Crisis of the Multiverse, Episode 1: Rebuild Anew
by OmegaEGG
Summary: The catalyst of the Crisis. A plague of the mind breaks the bonds and trust gained over the year of his life. With one life-changing event, Finn is forced into a nomadic life. So what happens when he is given a second chance in life? Will he rebuild, or will he crumble and fall into darkness? Flinn.
1. Chapter 1: Knightfall, Part 1

**A/N: Whelp, here is another new fan fiction from me. As always readers, enjoy and please give me feedback and questions. It helps me grow as a writer and it motivates me to do more things like these. :) But before we begin...What time is it?**

**Jake: Hey, that's my line! You nerd...**

**Oops, sorry...**

**Jake: What time is it?!**

**AT Cast (and me): IT'S ADVENTURE TIME!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Adventure Time. If I did, [insert something wacky here].**

**Chapter 1: Knightfall, Part 1 – Nightmares**

_Finn's POV_

I look to the dawning sky as I continue to plummet. Trails of shining particles follow me down to a large reflective orb below, the particles slowly disappearing with every passing second. This is it; I've done my work here, and it's time to move on to the next world. After all, what else am I needed for? The Lich has been defeated once and for all; the kingdoms of Ooo are in peace; and...

_"She doesn't need me anymore...I'm no hero; I'm just a shell of my former self. Only Death awaits me now,"_ I thought to myself out loud.

I swung my arms apart, releasing the sword of flame from my grip. The rush of power and strength from earlier faded away as I saw the burning blade shifted from a pinkish-purple to orange hue. I close my eyes and prepared myself for my impending doom, feeling a tear leaking through my left eyelid.

"Sorry Jake, PB, FP, looks like I won't be able to keep my promise this time..." I said just seconds before touchdown.

I can feel myself going through the pool, awaiting the swift death. Or so I thought. Instead, a loud boom came from right in front of me, followed by a shift in gravity. Wait, what? What is going on? That's not supposed to happen at all! I open my eyes and see the pool in front of me, distancing itself from me. Wait...I'm alive? But...But how?! I can feel every single bone and muscle of my body. And, well, there is the ground that is now slowly closing in on me...Oh wait.

"AHHHHHHH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I panic, "Fire, fly, boost, anything, DO SOMETHING, STUPID JETPACK!"

At the right moment, the jetpack ignited its last bits of fuel and I felt a slight jolt of upward acceleration, slowing down my landing; but it wasn't enough. To say it was a rough landing would be a bit of an understatement. Whatever, any landing I can walk away from is a good landing, I guess. I heard my voice groaning in pain as I struggle to stand up and stay awake. However, an extreme pain emanated from my right arm; the landing had botched it up badly. Any attempt I make to even squirm would send shocks from my broken arm. This is just as bad as having no arm at all! Within a blink of an eye, what seemed like the ghost of Death appeared before me.

"Whelp, let's see how long you'll last here," Death's fading voice was the last thing I heard as I slowly succumb to darkness.

* * *

><p><em>The Fire Kingdom, 07:39<em>

_3rd Person POV_

Within the blazing volcanic ash-covered land of the Fire Kingdom, the princess shot up from her slumber, involuntarily screaming the blonde hero's name.

"FINN!" She began to pant heavily, later realizing it was just a nightmare. Her hands clenched her fists tightly on her chest, hoping the memories would later dissipate. However, this did not happen at all, and it caused her to worry more so. "It's alright, Phoebe…He's fine. It's Finn, after all; that boy can take on almost anything…" She reassured herself, albeit with an unsettled tone.

It was then when she heard the knocks from her door, which then translated into bashes.

"Flame Princess! Are you okay? I heard you scream seconds ago!" It was Cinnamon Bun, unsurprisingly; the flame-shielded pastry was only worried for his damsel's well-being.

"I-I'm fine, really…" The girl on fire responded to her champion as she stood up and stretched.

The pastry breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay, m'lady. Just call me when you have any problems."

The monarch went over her usual morning routine. All throughout the morning, however, Flame Princess remained weary after her nightmare. She exited her chambers, wearing her white gown and a custom-made ruby necklace, engraved with an infinity symbol and the line geometric symbol slashing across the center, given by Finn nine months before he departed. She gazed at the symbol for a few moments, until Cinnamon Bun broke her silence.

"Princess, what does that symbol mean?"

The young monarch sighed, "Finn told me these were the symbols for infinity – the figure-8-looking ribbon – and eternity – the line that crosses the center of infinity. While they both mean more or less the exact same thing, he likes to think there's more to them than just that." Unfortunately, her little lecture was interrupted by a distant cackling.

Upon entering the throne room, she was greeted by maniacal laughter from her father, the former king of the Fire Kingdom, who still remains in the lantern above her throne.

"Ugh, what now?" An irate Phoebe questioned the former Flame King.

"Hmph, like I'd answer with that attitude of yours, child!" Flame King talked back at her, much to the current ruler's discontent. "After all," Flame King looked at her eye-to-eye, "you should know; you did watch him fall to his doom."

"...W-what do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Phoebe! You saw what that evil skeleton thing did to your blonde ex."

His daughter took the time to process what he had said, and then it clicked. "No, no… You are feeding me lies, father!"

CB and the other royal guards in the room looked distraught from the former king's sudden news. At that point, the doors burst open by none other than Princess Bubblegum. The pink princess was followed by two of Phoebe's royal guards. She was visibly gasping for air after running to the castle.

"B-Bonnibel? What are you doing here?" The fiery princess asked, shocked by her sudden appearance.

Breathing in and out, she replied to her query, "Phoebe, we have a problem. It's Finn…He's…" With that, Flame King broke into laughter again.

**A/N: And that concludes Part 1 of the introduction! Ah, whatever happened to our young hero? That's for me to know, and you guys to speculate and find out later! I also added a little easter egg in the story just for the heck of it. One hint: It's from one of my favorite stories. I congratulate those who are able to find it. :)**

**Also, a few things to note. For now, I will leave the meaning of the emblem on FP's ruby necklace up to your own interpretation until the next chapter. I would very much like to hear your takes on the ruby. In this story, Ooo's technology has also improved due in part of the discoveries of many things in the 20****th****-21****st**** century. They even have jetpacks now!**

**Again, please take some time to review the chapter; any and all feedback would be lovely! Stay fresh, ladies and gentlemen! OmegaEGG, signing out.**


	2. Chapter 2: Knightfall, Part 2

**A/N: Hey guys! Welcome back to another chapter of my AT fanfiction (Yay)! No, I am not dead (yet), this one was just really complicated to write, probably as complex as Prismo's Plan B. And schoolwork has been killing me lately. ;-; Y u do dis to me, school?! In other news, the name of John Boyega's character in Star Wars Episode 7 is Finn ****the Stormtrooper****. And I am giving my Finn a lightsaber-like energy weapon...Coincidence? I think not! (inb4 J4K3 the Droid)**

**Jokes aside, I just learned that my depiction of the wormhole is, well, wrong. Apparently, it's not a portal of complete darkness, but a sphere in space in which you can see the other side. Kind of like how Interstellar portrayed wormholes. I really should research these things more. Also, I added more dialogue, and changed FP's name to Phoebe, since that is her confirmed first name. And I know I said that the meaning of the signs in Phoebe's ruby will be revealed, but I took way too long and I had to cut content out of this chapter so I could post it. But I promise that it's coming at the next chapter. With all that out of the way, let's get on with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Adventure Time or its characters. If I did, Finn and FP would be back together by now.**

**Chapter 2: Knightfall, Part 2 – If There be Light, There is Darkness**

_9 months earlier, the Grasslands, 14:02_

_Finn's POV_

Rain, rain, rain. Although the smell of petrichor appeased my sense of smell, the dark clouds are squeezing every ounce of water inside it, pouring down volleys of droplets on me. It's almost as if it's crying over something. Grob, I wish I have an umbrella. Fortunately for me, the treehouse was within my sights. Eventually, I made it home, all dripping wet. I removed my white bear hat and wringed it to force the rain water out of it. After hanging it to a branch to dry, I grabbed a stubby stool and headed for the living room.

I placed the stool down and sat on it. My eyes wandered around the room, hoping to find something interesting. BMO is at Jake's today, and since it's raining, he can't go. There were the books Banana Man gave me, but I've already read them. As cool as they are, I don't like to re-read material I've already read. There was also dungeon crawling, but it's showering down heavily outside, and I just got out of the rain. Then there were the keys to my new old truck, Hot Daniel II, but I'm not really in the mood. Other than those, there really isn't much to do.

I've beaten evil to the point where they don't even seem to try and fight. Well, maybe except Simon, who still occasionally kidnaps princesses; not as much as before, but still. Even if trouble sprouts up when I'm not there, the Candy Kingdom has Rattleballs and the Fire Kingdom has its army and Cinnamon Bun.

Jake is living with his family now, which is understandable because he doesn't visit his kids a lot. As PB would say, 'responsibility demands sacrifice.' I'm sitting here, all alone. It just isn't the same without Jake. Nothing was when I messed it all up.

_"__I need some time alone..."_ Flame Princess' voice echoed in my head. Painful memories of that very day came flooding in, tormenting my already broken soul.

_"__You blew it man."_ It wasn't Simon or the Cosmic Owl; this time, it was me.

"Aagghh!" Outraged by my own thoughts, I stood up, grabbed my chair, and threw it to the side with all my might while yelling, "Get out of my head!"

The stubby wooden stool flew off to a drawer, causing one of the picture frames placed on top of it to fall off the table. I walked on over to pick up the mess I made and saw the picture I took with Flame Princess years ago, encased in a wooden frame and what is now broken glass, lying on the floor. Looking at the photo, it kind of takes me back, meeting her for the first time. It was rather...Messed up I should say. Nevertheless, the moment I laid eyes on her, she captured my heart. And I ruined it, for me and for her. I gave a huge sigh. Thinking about it just makes me restless, sad, angry...All sorts of things, really. If I could go back in time, I would undo all of...

And the phone began shaking and ringing. Having been already irritated by myself, I cringed at the interruption. Way to ruin the moment. I walk over to the phone and picked it up.

_"__I wonder who this could be,"_ I thought to myself as the speaker rose to my ear. "Yello?"

"Hey Finn! Long time no see, brotha!"

"Jake, dude! What's up?"

"Not much. Just checkin' on you since, well, you know."

"Yeah, I get it," I replied with a slightly grim tone, "So how's the family doing?"

"They're doing okay. My kids' growth spurts finally stopped. They're still older than me though. They're actually right here now for a sleepover. Well, except for Kim Kil Whan...Finn, what's up with the low voice?" Dang it Jake, why do you have to be so good at these kinds of things?

"I, uhhh..." I paused, struggling to make up some kind of lie, "I guess you could say that I'm bored," I didn't completely lie; what I said was partially true.

Jake groaned to my response, "Whatever man. Hey, why don't we go to PB's science expo tonight? Should help clear your head while we look at cool junk. I heard she's sharing new discoveries too after a joint op with Banana Man or something."

I took the moment to think of his offer, and I came up with an answer, "Hmm...Alright, I guess. What time does it start?"

"Around 6:30 PM or so."

"Okay, I'll pick you up later in Hot Daniel. I'll see you later, bro."

"What? I thought Hot Daniel got destroyed two years ago!"

"Nah, Banana Man gave me another truck as a gift for my birthday last year. He came late past midnight."

"Huh. Well, I better go now. Lady needs some help with some stuff. I'll see you later bro." With that, I dropped the call and sat back down on my stool, awaiting the end of the crying skies.

* * *

><p><em>18:10<em>

_Jake's POV_

_"__Hm, hm hm, hm hm hm hm,"_ My brain hummed as I stack piles of salami in between a hoagie, pasted with some creamy mayo. We will be gone for much of the night, so stashing some dinner on the go would be wise. "Hm...I wonder what I should get for Finn for his 17th birthday."

At that point, I can hear a loud engine rumbling in the distance. A red truck came into view; similar in shape to Hot Daniel, except this one was slightly shorter in height, it didn't have any of BMO's aerodynamic accessories, and it was red with black stripes. Immediately, I recognized who it was; and he's right on time. As he grew closer, my dog nose starts tingling; the scent of gasoline and...Yeek! What's that smell?!

"Gob dang it, Finn! Can't you even take a shower?" I said out loud, noticing that he reeked petrichor and body odor, the latter being the more dominant one.

While Finn parked his red truck in front of the house, I grabbed the salami hoagies I made and stuffed them inside a lunchbox, and BMO. In the background, the truck honked its horn twice, signaling that it has parked.

"Kids, I'm going out for the night with your uncle! Your mom's in charge 100% 'till I come back, as per usual," I yelled out.

"Okay, dad!" Viola responded for everyone. I took one last look at them and see Viola and Charlie gossiping about something, TV playing his computer games, and Jake Jr. pressing down on the white and black keys of her piano.

After I gave Lady Rainicorn a good ol' smooch goodbye, I head out the door, trying to ignore Finn's stench as much as possible. Inside the truck, he has his left elbow placed on the edge of the window, and his left hand on his cheek, curled up to a fist. He looks awfully terrible; his hair is all ruffled up, his shirt is a little wrinkly to say the least, and where is his bear hat?

As I thought about all those things, my legs led me to the truck bed, in whi- Oh look, the truck bed has a cover; neat. Underneath the steel trunk-like cover, I place the lunchbox and tightly sealed the truck bed. After BMO slipped inside the cockpit, settling himself on the center compartment, I slid through the open window of the passenger side, something people would do back in the mid-20th century with vehicles like these. At least, that's what the history books and old movies dictate.

"Dude, this is a nice truck!" I complimented. Much to my disappointment, the boy only stared at the windshield as the truck slowly motioned forward to the Candy Kingdom.

"Yep," he responded with a gloomy tone.

I can't help but feel so much sympathy for the boy; he is my brother after all, even if he is adopted. After a few minutes of bleak silence, I spoke up to try and break the tension, "Alright, Finn. Just tell me what's wrong. It's just the three of us here; you can be completely honest with us."

"Jake, there's nothing wrong, pal."

"Then how are you feeling?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" I stared at him with eyebrows crossed, hoping that he would get the question. "Jake, I'm fine, man. I don't 'feel' anything. And can you stop asking so many questions? I'm trying to drive," Finn retorted, visibly annoyed.

"I'm just a little worried, dude. You don't seem to be yourself..." I paused for a moment before I came up with a conclusion, "Finn, are you still hung up on Flame Princess?" The car then came to an abrupt halt.

"What? No! I'm over that biz, man! I've...I've moved on!" He snapped; I can already feel myself shrinking from his fumes of frustration, "I have to learn to respect her decisions. If she needed time alone, I'll give it to her. If she just wants to be friends, then...So be it..." The boy's head slumped as the truck rolled forward again. Then, as if he realized something, he continued, "I-I'm sorry, Jake...It's just a really sensitive subject."

I frowned, knowing that the boy had lied, but a consoling smile followed, "It's alright, Finn; I understand."

"...Soooooo...Uh...How's your new career in radio drama doing?" Finn asked, changing the topic.

"I'm doing pretty well," I replied, "Maybe I should do some novel writing, too!" With that response, I saw Finn's smile breaking through what was a sour moment. Although it appeared that this night will be long and blue, that smile enlightened us all in the truck.

* * *

><p><em>The Candy Kingdom, 18:32<em>

_3__rd__ Person POV_

People from various parts Ooo – fire elementals, candy people, heroes, warriors, wizards, the like – are gathering by the stage outside the walls of the Candy Kingdom, the place that seemed to gather the most attention. This is due to the fact that Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum is two minutes late for a scientific presentation. That is, until a faint 'whoosh' resonated nearby. A black flying diamond with highly-swept wings flies over the castle with its underside bays opening. A rail is brought down with a payload attached to it. Seconds after the bay opened, the payload is dropped off and its wings extend, causing the crowd to remain in awe.

While the black diamond-like object disappeared from sight, small flames ignited from its exhaust as it glides down. It made slight changes in trajectory, aiming close to the stage. One of the crowd mistakenly identified that the gliding object is heading to the crowd, like a missile heading straight for its target. Predictably, panic ensued, until a parachute, painted like peppermint candy, slowed the object down. Now within a close enough proximity for the eye to see, the object reveals itself to be a feminine person donning an olive green jumpsuit, a black helmet, and a winged jetpack. Gently like a feather, the person touched the grassy surface – a successful landing.

Peppermint Butler approached the person alone, carrying a white lab coat with him. The mysterious person unbuckled her carbon fiber wings and her carbon fiber helmet, revealing the hair of the pink gummy princess. Upon realizing who it was, the crowds livened up with a roar of applause. After handing over the jetpack and wearing the lab coat, Bonnibel proceeded to the stage whilst calming down her audience.

"Greetings, everyone; I am Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum, and I welcome you to the annual Candy Kingdom science exposition!" She began, "Before we officially begin, I have a few words to say. First off, I am well aware that I may have caused quite a bit of commotion with my entrance; for that, I apologize. Second, this year science expo is very special, and it is all thanks to our scientists, engineers, and lead archaeologist, Banana Man, and his team. Without them, all of these materials and technology we have today would never have been rediscovered and remade," The Princess then gestured to the group in the front row to stand up.

Those called on by the monarch stand up in response, receiving praise and acclamation from the audience. Banana Man, in particular, felt a little mousy, but the emotion is overlapped with a sense of pride.

"Lastl-" She was interrupted by the sound of metal crushing an empty watchtower over the kingdom walls. Realizing it was debris from her little stunt, Bonnibel gestures to Peppermint Butler to see if there were any people nearby the crash site. The red-striped candy being nods as he strapped the jetpack on and flew off to the direction of the wreckage. "Uh...I'm very sorry about that. You know what? Let's just get this expo started!"

The crowd applauded as the candy monarch steps off the stage, searching for one of Ooo's mightiest heroes. Luckily for her, both Finn and Jake are coming right to her.

"Ah, Finn, Jake! I have been looking for you," Bonnibel called out, "I need one of you to assist Peppermint Butler with the...Unexpected wreckage."

Jake looked over to the human beside him, worried that at his current state of mind, he wouldn't be able to do much. "I'll do it; Finn could use a bit more rest anyways."

"But I'm feeli-" Finn protested, but looking at Jake's tense facial expression directed towards him, he understood why he's taking up the job for himself. This trip is meant for him to relax and enjoy, not to work his butt off. "Oh fine then."

"Great! Have fun you two!" Jake said, stretching his way towards Peppermint Butler's location.

The human and the bubblegum monarch awkwardly stand in place, waiting for either one to speak. "I suppose I shall be your tour guide for the night," Bonnibel said, with Finn shrugging in response.

"Uh...Sure, I guess. To be honest, I don't really know how to get around the expo, considering how much different it is compared to previous years."

_"__Oh Finn..."_ She thought to herself.

The two strolled around, with Bonnibel guiding the hero through the wilderness that is the expo. Although he didn't understand anything about the complex technology being showcased, he found them interesting and simply cool to look at.

"So PB, why is this year so special?" Finn asked ever so curiously.

"I'm glad you asked. As you may recall, for the past year, I've sent a group of scientists, engineers, and archaeologists on an expedition to search for 'Old World' human technology from approximately a thousand years ago. Blueprints, artifacts, those sorts of things. To be honest, most of the technology we've rediscovered are more advanced and complex than I could create!" Bonnibel then brought Finn over to one of the stands. "Take this concept for a high-beta compact fusion reactor for instance. It was designed way back in the early 2000s with the purpose of creatin- Finn, are you even listening?" The gummy monarch looked over to Finn, who is gazing at a different stand.

This particular stand is more of Finn's taste, aside from the science-y junk associated with it. What drew him to it is a sword-like weapon, or at least a model and digital representation of it, with a projected capability of slicing through almost any known material. It has a telescopic graphene-ceramic composite rod with small holes and electromagnetic wires coiled around it extending out of a sleek carbon-steel hilt. Although the young hero does not understand the scientific terms, such as 'graphene-ceramic composite' or 'electromagnetic', he is mesmerized by the abilities the weapon possesses; so much in fact that he almost felt an urge to steal it. Almost.

"Finn...Finn!" Princess Bubblegum yelled, breaking Finn out of his trance.

"Huh, what?" Finn responded rather densely, "Oh, sorry PB, I kind of drifted off," he continued with a sly smile, to which Bonnibel could only frown.

"Riiight."

Seeing as he gave her the 'wrong' answer, Finn tries to respond in an attempt to get out of the awkward situation, "So what's this supposed to be? It says it's a sword-like weapon with the ability to cut almost anything, although I really have no idea what any of the science junk means."

"Ah, what you see here is a plasma sword. Plasma is the state of matter in which gas is ionized, consisting of positive ions and free electrons in proportions resulting in more or less no overall electric charge, typically at low pressures or at very high temperatures," She proceeds to grab the model off its display and shows Finn the underside of the hilt, exposing a mesh-covered titanium fan blade. "This fan sucks in air around it, superheats it to something as hot as lightning, and then blasts it inside the hollow ceramic rod, drilled with holes so the plasma can eject. There are electromagnetic coils wrapped around the rod to keep the plasma from 'dripping'."

The hero took some time to interpret what Bonnibel said before responding. "...So basically, it's a very hot futuristic fire sword without an actual blade?"

"In a way, yes. Although the scientists from the time this was conceptualized called it a 'lightsaber'. You know, that weapon they use in that movie series you watch a lot?"

"Oh."

"Unfortunately, not all aspects of the weapon as first conceptualized by the humans can be replicated. Carbon nanotubes, for example, are rather difficult to create, even with the human technologies in our possession, so I have to find a different source of energy," The Princess continued.

"...Uh..." Finn croaked with a blank expression on his face.

Bonnibel's palm met her face upon hearing his reaction and sighed. "Let's just leave it as a 'futuristic fire sword' without anything to power it."

The boy shrugged in response, "Can I have one?"

"First off, it's 'May I'. Second, no. This weapon is far too dangerous for any ordinary hands to control. One could simply cut his own hand off by accident, or cause major damage by toying around with it. If I am to give such a destructive weapon to someone, he/she/it has to be someone with great skill and precision. Which is why I'm going to give it to Rattleballs – that is, IF I ever manage to complete the weapon."

Finn could only frown. To him, it felt like he is being doubted by the candy monarch, but why? He seemed perfectly capable of handling a sword-like weapon of such degree. He may not be as cold and calculated as his robotic mentor, but he can definitely hold up for himself. Such thoughts began racing through his mind like an endless circuit. In truth, however, the Princess only cared for his safety; after all, lives are not something that can be recreated to its former self.

"Anyways, where would you like to go next?" Bonnibel continued.

"I think I'll just stay here for a bit; gonna admire this piece of machinery here."

"Okay, just don't do anything stupid. Have a good night, Finn."

The blonde hero is left alone again, staring at the futuristic sword as he continued to ponder on his thoughts. Unbeknownst to him, jealousy, self-doubt, lust for power, and all sorts of emotions began brewing up at the back of his mind.

It took Jake another hour to return to his brother's side. Once again he found him to be stuck in thought. Fortunately, a simple snap of a finger is all it took to bring Finn back to reality.

"Hey Finn!" He said, "How was the little 'tour'?"

"It was alright. Didn't understand much of it, though. Still, it was pretty cool to see the kinds of things humans were able to create back then."

"Well enough of that; it's getting a little late now, and we better go home. My kids are at home, mind you. Gotta complete my duty as a father, no matter how old they get!"

"Hehe, alright Jake. Let's go."

* * *

><p><em>The Grasslands, 00:03<em>

_Finn's POV_

My eyes open to a desolate wasteland, feeling all weak and puny. I look at my body, and I am wearing different clothes than I usually do; blue jacket, my trusty white bear hat, jeans, and large brown pouches strapped on to a belt going from my left shoulder down to my waist. Gazing up, there were silvery pellets of dust are falling from...A golden owl? Holy shmowzow! It's the Cosmic Owl, circling above! Then that means...

"It's a premonition dream..." I said out loud.

My head swivels around, and I see the Lich walking to a girl on – no, made of fire. Immediately, I recognize who it is; none other than Flame Princess. She lies down helplessly, seemingly without any strength within her. Suddenly, I feel a surge of energy rushing through my body. I roll over to my belly and push down on the ground to aid me onto my feet. I look around in search of my sword, but instead, I found broken pieces of silvery-white steel and blue glass, encased in ice, and what looked like broken bits and pieces of a silver rod, spitting out red flames out of the hilt.

_"__Sheesh, that's all I can think of? Drats, I really do have bunk imagination,"_ I thought, but upon closer inspection, I realize it's not from my own imagination; rather, it's PB's fire sword! What the flip is that doing here? Bleh, it looks broken anyways, no use trying to get it working again, especially in this situation.

Within a blink of an eye, the Lich is gone. Instead, a person with long blonde hair, my bear hat, and Simon's crown took his place. Heck, he even has my whole attire. Hey, wait a minute...He looks like...Me? But, but how?! I would never dare hurt her, let alone come _near_ her at this point, not without making a fool of myself even more! I blink again, and this time, a blue-skinned person donning a blue cape, jeans, gold and red shoulder pads. Initially, I thought it was Simon, but upon closer inspection, he looks too fit and too young to be him. Once more, no beard or mustache was growing; rather, a silky long white hair extended from head to toe.

My eyes are peeled wide open, watching his every move. Unexpectedly, his right arm was cut clean off. Next, liquid metal seeped through the open wound, forming some sort of awesome yet deadly mechanical arm before solidifying into place. Then, ice began forming over the cold steel arm, making it look like an armor for the arm itself. However, when the ice extended past his hand, creating a clean and smooth blade, I realized his intent – he was out to kill.

My vision wandered over to the moaning fire monarch, who was being risen by pillars of ice. Those pillars of ice then melted for a split second and freezing her into a captive state, with steam rising out of the makeshift trap. The energy inside me piqued, my heart rate rose, and time slowed when the perpetrator motioned his body, preparing to lunge at my ex-girlfriend. Unexpectedly, he shot forward, faster than the dust appearing behind him. And I just ran for it, feeling as if I was outrunning time, chasing after my loved one before this complete stranger stabs her. Taking one more glimpse at the boy in blue, I see his nefarious smile piercing through reality, and the shadow behind him growing into a monstrosity. At the last second, my body halted right between him and Flame Princess, before time went back into place. My hands grab the cold blade, but it wasn't enough to stop it, and I was thrown into the pitch black darkness.

The next second, I shot up from my bed, still wrapped up like a sausage. My eyes drifted within my peripheral vision; all seems normal. It's a few minutes past midnight, lights are still out...Yeah, all seems normal indeed. Then I hear sobs from the lower levels of the treehouse.

_"__Is there a thief in the house?"_ I thought,_ "But if there is one, why would he/she be crying? Gah! I'll just check it myself."_

I slip out of my bed, grabbing my Finn Sword while I'm at it. I somersault from the bedroom down to the living room, landing softly on my two feet. I can hear the whimpers from here, but where? I look around; no one's here but me. After another circle around the room, I finally found him helplessly lying down on the floor beside the couch, emotionally broken. He had blonde hair, blue shirt...Wait, is that me? What the dingus is going on?

"My life's a messed-up bullstuff," he murmured to himself.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it right there, dude. That is a terrible attitude; lighten up."

The boy slowly rises from the creaking floor and turns around to face me. Much to my surprise, he doesn't just look like me..."Don't you get it? I am you!" He said before I can finish my thought, "I am the part that you refuse to accept and lock away in the depths of your mind."

"That's..." I was interrupted yet again.

"Ridiculous? Maybe Tiffany was right; we are ignorant," I am left dumbfounded at his response.

"...I am going to ignore that," I said, "Why were you sulking all over the floor?"

"Why would you want to know?"

"Well, like you said, I am you. I've got the right to know."

"You should know; you've gone through the crap," He said, "You lost an arm, your dad was a jerk, you lost your girlfriend to a pastry; need I remind you more?" There was some silence between us, shooting glares at each other, before he snapped. "Just leave me alone,"

"Whatever. I'm going down," I retorted.

"And one more piece of advice: even those with the purest of hearts fall into darkness," the other me said, lying down on the couch.

I frown at him, but seeing as he knows exactly what I'm thinking, I simply moved on down to the treasure room. Although, what he said had left me more to think about. Eh, I'll worry about that later; for now, I'll meet this other me. I somersault yet again down to the treasure room and – whoa! The wooden floor starts to creak and crack. Did I gain some weight? Suddenly, the floor breaks, and I fall through. My left arm instinctively grabbed on to a ledge as I look down at what seems to be an endless pit. Or so it seems, as there are green pupils staring right at my soul. What in the name of Glob is that?! A black goo-like substance forms an octopus arm from within the pit, reaching for my leg.

My voice cracked as I scream helplessly. Whatever this thing is, it's going to eat me alive! I won't just willingly give myself to this...Thing! The pitch black octopus arm creeps up my left leg, grabs it tight, and tugs it down. It's stronger than I hoped; already, I can feel my arm wearing out. Another octopus arm latched onto my favorite right arm; I just hope it doesn't rip it out. Every second, another arm appeared to secure itself on me. It didn't take long for my left arm to finally weaken to the point it can't hold on any longer. Time slowed down, the world around me muted. My screams were nothing but soundless. Slowly, blackness consumed me without a trace left behind.

Then, I felt a slight sting on my back. I opened my eyes – it was just another nightmare. I'm still wrapped in my sleeping bag; this time, though, I'm on the floor. The stingy feeling on my back grew more painful with every passing second. I slip out from my bag and stand up.

_"__Gee, what is up with the nightmares tonight?"_ I thought as I stretched my back.

I climbed down the kitchen to grab me a glass of water, hopeful that the memories would just fade away. But they didn't; instead, they continue to echo inside my head. The blue boy with white hair and the crown, the black goo thing with green eyes, Flame Princess in a deadly situation, the icy blade piercing through my gut...They all stayed. I look out the window, hoping to get these thoughts out of my head with some clear starlit skies. Oh look, a twinkling star! Actually, now that I look at it, it looks a little brighter than usual...And bigger too...Ugh, what am I feeling? A sudden headache hit me like a minotaur and I begin to feel weak. There was one more thing that rang through my mind before I fell unconscious.

_"__Even those with the purest of hearts fall into darkness..."_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Mmm, cliffhangers. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that one. Once again, I am very sorry for the late insertion of the new chapter. Sigh. Busy life is busy. :/ Ah well, let's get on to responding the reviews from the previous chapter.**

**Bio team2 – You're in luck, because the new chapter's out now! :P**

**Ooobserver – No problem, dude. I really love your fanfiction, so I threw in that easter egg and a cameo of one of your OCs in the next chapter. :3**

**Writingsterner – Here's more! :D**

**That is all for now, folks. If you like this story and want to see more, please follow/favorite. If you have any comments and questions, post them in the reviews section. Until then, I bid you ado! Have a safe, merry Christmas, and a happy New Year! :) OmegaEGG, signing off.**


	3. Chapter 3: Knightfall, Part 3

**A/N: Welcome back to another chapter of Rebuild Anew! So I wasn't able to start this chapter until February due to January being final exams month; I sincerely apologize for the significant delays. But regardless, here it is! I put quite a lot of work on it, so I hope you enjoy this action-packed penultimate part of the multi-part episode!**

**Disclaimer: Adventure Time is Pendleton Ward's baby, not mine.**

**Chapter 3: Knightfall, Part 3 – If There be Darkness, There is Light**

_Forests of the Candy Kingdom, 0:03_

_3__rd__ Person POV_

In the depths of the forests, inside the borders of the Candy Kingdom, lies a small pink bungalow-like house. Inside, everything is about the size of a toddler, barely big enough for a teenage human to fit; which is why that the giant baby inside does not fit the picture. The baby had brown hair and two horns protruding out of each side of his head, one of which has been sliced off. He slept soundly on its bed, its chubby body curled up in a fetal position. All seems peaceful in this humble home. Or so it seems, as the baby starts moaning and, after a few minutes, suddenly opens its eyes, wide and pitch black, and begins to blurt out random noises. He rolls over to his belly, pushes up, and starts to slowly shed every fiber of his anatomy, from organs down to cells, until only the skeleton remains.

The baby's adoptive parents, Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig, are awakened by the strange noises emanating from the baby's room. The pink pig grabs a wooden bat while the green pygmy elephant hid behind her pig husband, fearing whatever is inside their baby's room. Mr. Pig slowly turns the door knob with his free hand and inches the door open. Rather than another person robbing their house like they expected, instead they were greeted with a 'living' skeleton and rotten skin. The baby is nowhere to be found; only the vilest of creatures remained in the room.

"Oh my Glob!" Mr. Pig said to his wife, realizing what – or who – this being in front of them is, "I-i-it's the Lich!"

A feeling of concern and fear trembles through the old couple's bones as they watch the evil being shed dead weight that is the fleshy material that was once full of life and imprisoned him for nearly two years.

"Honey, we have to go, now!"

"B-but where's the baby? We can't just leave him!" Tree Trunks said.

"Sweety Pie, the baby's nowhere to be found in this room. For all we know, that thing killed our baby!" Mr. Pig retorted, maybe a bit too loudly.

The skull of the Lich rotates slowly to the door and with its 'eyes and ears,' it saw and overheard the old couple. "So close, yet so far, puny pig." Whatever Mr. Pig and Tree Trunks were discussing now, they halt upon hearing the embodiment of evil speak, "I was trapped under that wretched flesh the human imprisoned me in. But alas, there is and never will be a cell that can hold me down forever."

Realizing that they had been a wee bit too loud, the pig and the elephant slowly backed away from the door, fearing whatever may come next. The Lich stood upright; his dead skin that lied on the floor slowly rises and starts revolving around him, forming his old cloak. Magical green flames erupted from the bony palms of the embodiment of evil, death, and destruction of life, a clear signal that they must...

"Run." Mr. Pig dropped the bat and gestured his wife to the door.

Heeding Mr. Pig's warning, Tree Trunks took off with her husband following her. The couple exited their home before green fire erupts and blows it to smithereens. The shockwave of the explosion threw the pig and the elephant down on their bellies. In the epicenter, the Lich, unaffected by its own flames, walks towards where the door used to be. The old couple got themselves on their feet again and starts running away from the site. The skeleton simply ignored the two and looked to the stars. Among the trillions of balls of burning hydrogen and helium illuminating the night sky was a pulsating light outshining most of the celestial objects.

"The cycle nears its completion..." The evil being said, "Like a virus latching onto its host, so must I infect my prey." The Lich sits down on the ashes of the burnt down house and begins to meditate. "Let the contingency plan begin."

* * *

><p><em>The Grasslands, 0:10<em>

_Finn's POV_

"Ohhh...Ooowww..." I moaned.

How long have I been out? My eyes open and I find my face lying on a puddle of water. It's fresh, having only been there for minutes. I remember now; I must've been out for a few minutes. Panic attack? Some sort of knockout potion? Geez. After grasping my senses, I bring myself back on my feet.

"Finn! Thank Glob you're fine!" I heard BMO say, "There was a loud crash here, I heard it, and I saw you here, lying down, sleeping, and, and..."

"Calm down, BMO, I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about; now go back to bed."

"O-okay..."

As I watch the little teal computer climb back up to the bedroom, my head felt dizzy once again. Random thoughts begin to rapidly fill my mind; some are peaceful thoughts, others belligerent, and others more are simply random. It aches; it feels like my mind's going to blow up any second. I really do hope I don't pass out again. Fortunately for me, that moment never came. However, as time passes, I begin to have an urge to do...Something. I can't really explain it, but whatever; it's going to blow over any second, right?

"Maybe I should go out for a quick walk, let my mind fester a bit...Should help me get this crud out of my head." I said to myself.

I climb up to the bedroom, rip off my pajamas, and wear my usual attire. Hmm, what else did I forget? Oh yeah, the Finn Sword! Sitting beside to my bed, the sword's blue orb gleams under the moonlight; its blade covered with a brown rich Corinthian leather sheath. I snatch it from its resting place and, after taking one last look at a hibernating BMO, drop down to the treasure room, and exit the treehouse. As I trek across the plains, I look up once again, up to the twinkling star. Kinda reminds me of that comet Glob blew up...Poor Glob, I wonder where he is now...Come to think of it, if Dad's ship was the one that crashed, then what was this comet Glob spoke of before he sacrificed himself? Hmm...

"Hey man, didn't Jake tell you that festering of all kinds is bad?" Someone close by called out.

"Huh?" I look behind me towards the voice; no one's around.

"Your sword, Mertens," the voice said. I took my sword out and realize that it is talking to me.

"Oh, hey. What did you originally ask me, again?" I asked.

"Ah forget it."

"Say, you have any idea about the comet Glob was talking about before he...Well, you know."

"I'm just as dumbfounded as you, dude."

"Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting that you're me," I stated as I rub the back of my head in embarrassment. "Or are you an extension of me? I don't know."

"Okay, maybe that's too much thinking."

After minutes of endlessly wandering across the vast green plains, I lie down on the grass, looking straight up into the starlit vacuum of space. Sometimes, I feel like my sword is its own entity. Maybe it is, or it's just a part of me. I mean, it's made by Prismo from an alternate me, and it talks _exactly_ like me...Ah, enough of this nonsensical thinking. Just relax, enjoy the view. Oh, that's a shooting star. I wonder what I should wish for...I got nothing. Oh well, maybe next time; I'm feeling a sleepy now anyways. I yawn as my eyes flickered. There's that vibrant light again...Zzz.

* * *

><p><em>The Vault, the Candy Kingdom, 0:52<em>

_Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum's POV_

I stare deeply at the holographic screen of the supercomputer, bored out of my mind. It's just one of those days when insomnia kicks in and I can't sleep for Glob knows how long. Well, at least I have this program to keep me company...

"Peppermint Butler, see if you can re-establish a connection with one of the space telescopes. Let's try...NEOWISE,"

"Yes, your majesty," He replied as he began to push buttons.

Only eerie silence fills the room as we wait anxiously for the reconnection of an ancient artificial satellite. Minutes pass until the computer made a 'bleep' signaling its reconnection. However, it was met with resistance; a security system that uses encrypted coding installed within.

"Oops, hold on a second..." Peppermint Butler began the process of decrypting the security codes of the satellite, until, "There we go, connection with Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer satellite re-established, your highness!"

"That was fast. I expected human data security to be more...Secure," I stated.

"PB, we're tackling a more-than-a-millennia-old spacecraft with the likes of this," Peppermint Butler replied, gesturing to the supercomputer.

"I suppose..."

In response to Martin's spacecraft crashing outside the Ice Kingdom nearly a year ago, there have been calls, especially from my fellow princesses, to step up the tracking of and defense from extraterrestrial objects. Seeing as this NEOWISE satellite is calibrated for tracking near-earth obje- Alright, who's knocking on the vault door?

"Uhm, your highness? Banana guards are at the door." Peppermint Butler spoke.

I sighed, "What is it now?"

"Princess, Princess!" They shouted at the camera.

"Peppermint Butler, unlock the vault door, please." As the vault is unlocked, the Banana Guards finally calm down. "Alright, speak up."

"Ma'am, we have reports from two witnesses that the Lich is back!" No...I-it can't be...Upon hearing the news, every single person in the room, including myself, is shocked. No, this is no time to be in shock.

"Who are the witnesses? Bring them both to the throne, ASAP! I need to speak with the witnesses. Prepare for immediate evacuation of the Kingdom!" As the guards scamper off to accomplish the tasks I entrusted, I turn towards Peppermint Butler, "I feared that this would happen..."

"Princess, if in any way that it's true, then we will need everything we have to stop him," Peppermint Butler said.

"Get Rattleballs to defend during evacuation. I'll call in Finn and Jake," I ordered.

As he rushes off, a white/blue streak at the corner of my eye. Strange...I must be just seeing things. Oh, that reminds me.

"And put the vault on lockdown. We don't want any intruders here; especially with the sensitive materials we have inside. No one gets in _or _out!" The guards escorting me agreed to my request and proceeded to shut the vault door. Once I left the premises, the whole facility is on lockdown.

On my way to the throne, I push the candy wood double doors open and find Mr. Pig and Tree Trunks standing, waiting, all bruised up, but by what?

"Princess, thank goodness! It's terrible!" Tree Trunks jumped.

"Calm down, Tree Trunks. Just tell me everything what happened." She explains with great detail the catastrophe that brought upon them. When she mentions their missing child, I knew that he's coming.

"We just had to come to you! Me and Mr. Pig didn't see any other option!"

"It's alright, TT, Mr. Pig; it wasn't your fault. All that matters now is that I get you two to safety," I then gestured to the guards, "Bring them along with the evacuees and grab me a phone, please. I need to make a call."

As one guard escorts the two, another hands me a simple wireless telephone and immediately, I dial up Finn. Half a minute passes, but there was no answer. I try again; nothing. Glob it, Finn, where are you? With him unavailable, I proceed to dial Jake instead. Hopefully he would an-

"Hello?"

"Jake, are you there?"

"Prubs? What are you doing calling us in the middle of the night?"

"Just get over here; it is a matter of life and death!"

"What?! What's going on there?!"

"Just do it! I'll brief you in once you get here!"

"A-Alright, I'll get over there as soon as I can!" With that, he rushed out of his abode, leaving the line open.

"Princess? Is there a problem? Why is Jake leaving all of a sudden?" Lady Rainicorn asked in Korean.

"Lady, everything's alright. I just need Jake for an emergency. Just stay safe, okay?" I said. Once Lady replied, we close the line and I focus back on the task at hand.

"Evil presence detected!" From out of nowhere, the gumball guardians spoke; the Lich is closing in.

There's no use trying to call Finn when he won't answer the flipping phone; the world isn't going to wait for him to save it, especially not when the bane of all life is knocking on the front doors. Jake may be coming, but I don't know if he will make it before the kingdom is reduced to a pile of rubble. Wait...The Nighthawks! I dial up a number and wait for a response.

"This is a restricted line! What are you doing calling us in the mid-" The voice of Colonel Candy Corn answered the call.

"Colonel, it's the Princess!"

"O-oh! I'm sorry Princess, what can I do for you? And why are you calling the base this late?"

"No time for that. Has Nighthawk 1 and 2 been prepared for their next flight?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good; it's time to begin live weapons testing. Load it up with long-range air-to-ground missiles. Not the dummies, but the real, high-explosive ones."

"What? Why? We only have a limited stock of weapons; production of these ancient missiles has yet to ramp up!"

"The Lich...That's why." I pause for a moment before I continued, "It may not work, but I am not giving up my kingdom just like that!"

It took him a moment to absorb what was happening here. His last words before we closed the line were, "I see...Okay, Princess."

Reports were soon flooding in of various monsters harassing the citizens during evacuation, and then an explosion. I knew time was running out and fast.

* * *

><p><em>Finn's POV<em>

"You know you want it...But you can't have it."

I jolt awake upon hearing the voice. Wait, where am I? Everything around me is pitch-black...What's going on? It doesn't feel like I'm floating; it actually feels like I'm standing on something. I stand up on my two feet and begin to look around. I take one step forward and a light radiates beneath my feet. The searing brightness shines the whole area I stood on, and my natural response was to cover my eyes and step back. Upon opening my eyes, I find myself to be standing on the center of a stained glass platform. Feathers of two colors floated down as bluish-white doves and black ravens are flying away from the platform. The platform itself is divided in half with the same blue-white and black colors. I couldn't make it out here on the platform's surface, but I'm sure the stained glass makes up some sort of picture.

"You are looked down upon..." There's that voice again. Seriously, what the flip is going on? "They say you are incapable, not worthy of wielding such a weapon."

I know what he trying to do; he's putting me down so that I would be mentally strained. "Where are you? Show yourself! Your petty talk isn't going to work on me!"

A young male humanoid figure with green eyes emerged out of the dark side of the platform, shrouded in darkness, with a sword at hand. He draws his weapon up and charges at me. In the meantime, my sword materializes out of thin air, and my natural instinct takes over to block his strike.

"Whoa...How did my sword ge- oof!" I took a kick to my gut and I landed close to the edge of the platform. I quickly recover and put myself in a battle stance.

As he prepares to attack me again, I try to make out his features from the silhouette his 'cloak' formed and analyze his weapon and strategy. Come to think of it, it looks rather similar to mine in shape, but drastically different in color; it is a dark blade as black as the 'sky,' if there even is one, with a bright orange orb, in contrast to my white blade with a blue orb. Gah, focus! He's coming right at me! I skillfully strafe right to dodge his lunge and parried his following slash. Watching him fight leads me to conclude that he is aggressive. We continued to duel for who knows how long, until I strike him down. He retreats back into the dark side of the platform, where his magical dark cloak begins to dissipate. Maybe that cloak was merely a shield, who knows...

"Who are you?!" I demanded. When his cloak is completely gone, I find myself surprised to see who this person was: me. Complete with blonde hair, the bear hat hanging on his neck, and everything else, he put on a devious smile that would pierce anyone's soul.

"Someone from the dark." Before I could question him again, he rushes towards me yet again.

Our swords clash at the center of the platform. We look eye-to-eye; his green eyes burn of evil dark magic as he gives off an insane laugh in the process.

"You're weak! You're not a hero; you're nothing but a lost child! It's no wonder people look down on you now. Maybe that's why you got dumped on by PB and FP. You should've stayed out of the hero business," He taunted.

"SHUT UP!" Oh what a mistake I have done. I was agitated and as a result, he counters my attack, disarms me, sending my Finn Sword flying upward to the black abyss, and I was forced to my knee.

"Checkmate," he said as his right hand placed his sword's edge at my neck. I scowl at him, but I knew that I'm done for. "Let your heart, mind, and soul succumb to your darkness, then maybe I will spare your body." Or am I? I hear the whirling motion of my falling sword closing in. He's too cocky, and it looks like luck is on my side today.

"Sorry, but whoever you are, I've got other plans."

My left arm pushed away the sword and my right went for the low-blow. With one swift motion, I snatch his sword from him and jump to grab mine. I land close to the edge and performed the shadowless thrust.

I burst awake, face down on candy cement. Was that all just a dream?

"Hey! Hey dude!" It was my sword...Maybe it was just a dream...I recover back onto my two feet. "Dude, are you alright?" My sword asked.

"Yeah, but...Where am I?"

"In the Candy Kingdom Vault."

"What?! How did I even get in here?!"

"You snuck in while the guards were paying attention to Prubs while she left the vault door was open. I tried to snap you out of it, but you were like a zombie with green eyes." Green eyes? Is it connected to what I just experienced? "It's like you were under someone's control...Also, the whole facility is on lockdown. We can't get in or out unless otherwise."

"Why's that?"

"If I heard it right, it's the Lich. He's back."

After a brief moment of silence, my grip on the sword tightened. I knew he was going to come out of that baby form sooner or later, and I'm ready for it. But before that, I need to find a way out of here first. Hmm...Maybe that computer could help. Let's see here...Blueprints, files, folders of various things popped up on the window. Huh, so this is what Banana Man found; a treasure chest's worth of priceless human technology, bearing the names of 'Raptor,' 'Black Widow II,' and so on. Cool stuff, I must say. Then there's a blinking tab at the bottom. NEOWISE? I wonder what that means. I press the button, and see some sort of warning. 'Extraterrestrial object, imminent impact in approx. 1 year' is what it says. What's that supposed to mean? An impact with what? Gah, why is all this sciency junk so confusing?!

I continue to look around for a way to exit the vault. Much to my annoyance, there doesn't seem to be any. Hmm...What if I try to use the things in here to break myself out? That could work, but what can I use? It was at that point there was an explosion close to me; the walls have been broken down. I was thrown to the corner, coughing from the debris, as a figure approaches the newly formed cavity. Crummy dust, getting all over my eyes and lungs, ack!

"There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?" That voice...He's here.

"The Lich..." I coughed as I recovered from the explosion, "And here I thought you'd stay as a cute baby longer."

"Hehe, even in the face of danger, your confidence remains unshaken and your arrogance unhinged. You are indeed worthy of a pawn in my grand scheme."

"I'm not the little kid you faced a year ago! I'm not afraid of you!" I declared.

"You say that, yet a part of you accepts the growing darkness inside. Is it because you lust for the power it holds, or because you fear it?"

W-what is he saying? I was left dumbfounded by his words, but I try to shake it out of my system. "Gah! STOP TOYING WITH MY HEAD!" I yelled with both hands held tightly on my sword's grip.

**(A/N: Soundtrack Time! Another Side, Another Story – Yoko Shimomura)**

I charge at the Lich with the shadowless thrust and, once I got close, I fling my sword, only to be swat by him. I slam the wall hard as he laughs; he is stirring resent within me so I would flop! The taunts, the trivial questions, that lousy laugh of his, I just know it! I look around, hoping to find something to use as a weapon. On the table close to me lies the answer, the Blade of Dragonfire...Or something. Honestly, PB needs to make up a name for it; it's just labeled as 'EW1 – Thermoelectric Prototype' here, whatever that means. Wait, didn't she say that she's still building it? Gah, no time to question that! I stand up and grab the blade off of the table. I press a button on the metallic grip and a thin and slightly blunt graphite-like spike emerged from the hilt. I wait for the spike to be ignited by super-hot plasma, but nothing; all its doing is, well, nothing. Gob dang it! It's not even completed yet!

"Ahahaha, what are you going to do with _that_? Poke me to death? Fool, it is time to meet your death," He said.

He's right, what am I going to do with this? I am a blithering idiot – no, even worse than that. Then, at the corner of my eye, I see the Lich conjuring jets of black-green flames from his palms. He aims and launches it at such a high velocity. That's it; I'm going to die here. My eyes close as time feels like it slows down to a near halt, and my left arm, holding the prototype weapon tight, instinctively strokes and deflects the shot. The fast fireball bounces off the spike and melts a hole through the steel vault door. Whoa, I can do that? Even the Lich seems surprised. With a newfound confidence in my abilities, I spin both swords, gripping the supposed fire sword reverse and the Finn Sword normally, and gestured to him to come at me.

"So be it."

He launches a volley of fireballs, all of which are homing on me. I quickly look around, and an idea springs into mind. There are pillars supporting the roof over us, one of which has been destroyed by the Lich when he blew that gigantic hole in the wall. Maybe if I destroy enough of them, the roof would collapse. I then run to the closest pillar and took cover behind it. It explodes a split second later and I roll out of the way. I deflect the other fireballs that were still pursuing me, taking out two other pillars. One heads straight for the Lich, which he terminated with another fireball. The two exploded on impact, creating a cloud of smoke and dust; this is my opportunity. I dash towards him and performed the shadowless thrust on him. He blocks my attack and, immediately, we are gridlocked in a close quarter combat. We continue to trade punches until I was knocked back far from him. I didn't notice a high speed fireball approaching me, and when I did, I barely came out alive. My shirt was charred on the left shoulder area and my skin got singed by the intense heat. The Lich flings another fast fireball, but this time I was prepared for it. I deflect it with the prototype sword back to him, which he simply slaps it to another pillar. The pillar explodes and causes the whole roof to shake. Cracks begin to form and grow, and then I realized that I am under the same roof as well. Maybe I hadn't thought this through...Finally, it collapsed; tons of candy bricks fell on top of the Lich and almost on me, if I wasn't brought out of the way by a figure in a white cloak. I immediately recognized who it was.

"Rattleballs? What are you doing here?" I asked the gumball dispenser robot, surprised by his unexpected appearance.

"I've been watching you, my apprentice," He said as he put me back on my feet. "Your strategies need more refinement, and so does your shadowless thrust."

"Hehe, well I admit I have been a little sloppy."

"However, your recent behavioral patterns concern me."

"Huh? Why?"

"You have infiltrated one of the most secure places on this planet without hesitation. Does that not cause concern to you?"

I actually hadn't thought about it. Why would I even go here in the first place? It was then when the arm of the Lich broke through the rubble.

"It seems that our time of talk has ended, Finn."

"Yeah, time to kick some butt!" I said. Just then, two black diamond-shaped aircraft, the same one from the expo earlier, flew overhead.

"We are running out of time; we must make this quick!"

"What are those things?"

"F-117A Nighthawks, one of humanity's deadliest weapons of war. The two we just saw were the only aircraft found during excavation in the desert. It is likely that there are others more, but so far, only blueprints of them exist."

Once he had finished, the Lich emerged out of the rubble he was temporarily buried in. "ENOUGH; I am tired of playing games with you two!"

"Apprentice, what is that saying humans used to express...'Watch and learn.'"

With a blink of an eye, the robot darted across the room faster than I ever could; it's like Rattleballs used an improved version of shadowless thrust. The evil being could not react fast enough and he got kicked from behind. The two engaged in combat as I continued to recover from the damage my body sustained previously; however, I didn't take long. Soon enough, I joined in the fray. We continue to fight him, but even then, robots don't have the strength or the endurance to defeat an enemy such as the Lich, something we learned the hard way when he grabbed us both by the neck and simply threw us across the room. I landed harshly on the candy debris whereas the gumball dispenser robot slammed on the wall.

"Rattleballs!" I called out.

"It is okay; pain is not in my programming," He said nonchalantly.

I stood back up, and I see another fireball coming at me. I draw both swords and form an X, blocking the shot. What I did not expect was that the it split into four and redirected around me; this time, striking Rattleballs.

"NO!" The explosion destroyed the wall and heavily damaged him. I began to seethe anger and I scowled at the Lich.

"Yes, let the fuel feed the fires; release your inner rage!"

Taking no attention to his words, I charge at him once again, screaming in fury. However, I did not notice four smoke clouds in the sky heading straight down for the Lich. In a split second, there are four explosions engulfing him. The shockwave sends me flying back and my ears won't stop ringing from the explosion. When the smoke finally clears, I see the extent of the destruction caused by what I think is an air strike from the Nighthawks earlier. The vault was unrecognizable; much of what's left of it is rubble. Whatever Prubs stored inside it was mostly destroyed, including that giant computer she had in the room. The Lich, on the other hand, was one on knee, struggling to stand up straight. It seemed that he took quite the blow after the air strike, but it didn't look like much to me. In fact, he kind of looked like he shrugged most of it off...

"Hmm...It seems you're not ready yet," He said as he began to retreat.

"Hey! I'm not done with you!" I was coughing from the debris that resulted in the air strike.

"We shall finish this where two worlds connect; in the frozen graveyard of the north." With that, his whole form just disperses into the wind. I try to chase him, but to no avail.

I was brought to my knees, slamming my fists on the very ground I kneeled on; I had failed again. I couldn't stop him, not even with Rattleballs on my side...Rattleballs! Oh Gob, where is he?! It wasn't long until I found him; however, he lied on the debris in pieces. His jar of gumballs is shattered, his legs are gone, his left arm is crushed...I am certain of only one thing I can do to help him.

"Come on, get up, buddy!" I told him, struggling to remove the debris that partially buried him.

"Finn, you have to go, now."

"I'm not going to leave you here!"

"Worry not about me or the others; once the Princess finds and repairs me, I will cover you. You, on the other hand, will be branded as a fugitive of the law," He said pointing at a camera lost from its connection. It was at this moment I realized I've been caught in the act of breaking into the Candy Kingdom Vault. "I saw what happened to you; I understand now. Those green eyes, the aggression..."

"What do you mean?"

"Finn, you must not let your emotions control you; do not let yourself succumb to the darkness in here," he said, gesturing with his right arm on my heart. "Or else, he will control you," He then switched to a different subject. "Grab whatever you can from here and go! And the plasma sword; bring it to the Fire Kingdom. That particular one you have in your hand uses heat to generate electricity, hence the word thermoelectric. Now go before they find you here!"

I was hesitant, but knowing what would happen if I stayed here, I complied. I scoured the debris for anything useful. After minutes of luckless searching, I finally found something of use; a jetpack, probably the same one PB used in her entrance in the expo earlier. Unfortunately, it was out of fuel and one of its wings was clipped under the falling rubble. Hmm...It looks like the wings are made of some sort of metal; all the more reason to visit Ferrum in the Fire Kingdom. I'm sure he'll fix this in no time. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him in a while. Then again, I haven't gone into the Fire Kingdom in a while either...I wonder how she is doing. I sigh; I shouldn't be thinking of these thoughts right now. I strap the broken jetpack on and prepare to leave, and then I hear Rattleballs speak, so I stop and listen.

"Guilty until proven innocent. Lies will be spread; only a few will know the truth. You will be hunted down, but you will not falter. Once you're gone, never look back, but never forget. Defeat the accursed and bring this world back to light."

"Huh, I didn't know you like prose."

"It is what happens when you isolate yourself in a human dump," he smirked, to which I respond with a smile.

I immediately dash into the dense cotton candy forest before anyone else could spot me. Good thing too; the same pair of black diamond-shaped aircraft made another run towards the vault. They were actually pretty silent whenever they fly by, now that I think of it; always with a faint 'woosh'. Eventually, I made it back to my treehouse, where I was greeted by BMO at the front door.

"Where have you gone Finn?" He demanded

"I...Uh...Princess Bubblegum called me for an emergency assignment," I lied.

"Liar! The Princess called _after_ you were gone!" He claimed as he crossed his arms. "I didn't get to answer it since you were supposed to, but I checked the caller ID."

"Well, I was in the Candy Kingdom anyways, sooo..."

I grabbed BMO and entered my abode. We climb up to the bedroom, where I set him down on Jake's old bed and started searching for any other thing that could be useful in the long run.

"Why did you go out all of a sudden anyways, Finn?"

"Not now, BMO," I rejected.

"Finn..."

"I said CAN IT, BMO!" I yelled. It took a split second for my brain to register what I had just done, and my hand covered my mouth in response. BMO was visibly shaken; I don't think he ever saw me like this. "S-sorry, BMO. Look, I...I'm not feeling well. Please, just...ease with the questions." BMO remained silent for the time being.

I grab a single-strap backpack with a scabbard and Billy's cloak. In the process of searching, I doused myself a little with the Cyclops Eye Tears and filled a whole bottle, placing it in my bag. I also grabbed some food and water and a small sack of gold, just in case. However, I still feel that I owe an explanation to BMO what's going on.

"BMO, I'm going...On an epic journey, I suppose. I'll be out of town for a while. Don't tell Jake."

"You should've just told me that, Finn. No need to yell at me," He replied with an irritated expression.

"Sorry, there's just a lot on my mind tonight..." I gave BMO a sly smile, only to remove it when I faced away. "You and Neptr stay safe, alright?"

"Yes sir!" BMO saluted as I slung the backpack over my right shoulder.

I slid the sword into its sheath, making a very metallic sound that echoed in the room. After grabbing the keys to the truck, I enter and start it up, giving me a low rumbly growl. I look to the house once more, since I will probably be gone for Grob knows how long.

* * *

><p><em>Outskirts of the Fire Kingdom, 01:39<em>

This is as far as the truck can go; otherwise, I risk overheating the engine or melting the tires into liquid rubber. I hopped off the vehicle and looked to the horizon. The Fire Kingdom; it's been nearly two years last I set foot there, and not much has changed since; still ridiculously hot as crap. Of course, since the Fire Kingdom is built on a supervolcano spewing with lava for hundreds of years, it's bound to be hot. The jetpack wouldn't fit on my fireproof suit, so I'll have to resort to Flame Shield. Conveniently, Flambo was close by, sleeping soundly.

"Pssst, hey, hey Flambo?" I poked the little flambit.

"Mmmh, not now ma..." Aw, he's dreaming. I actually feel bad for even bothering him a little.

Well then, looks like we're going in without protection. I stroll on forward to the gates of the Fire Kingdom. Two towering fire elementals are stationed on guard duty, just like how I remember it. As I approached the two, they draw their spears and block the path into the kingdom.

"Halt." The guards scanned me for a quick moment, "Ah, Finn the Human, it's been a while. State your business," One of the guards greeted.

I cleared my throat and spoke, "I'm here to visit the famed blacksmith of the kingdom to repair the jetpack." I paused to show the jetpack's broken wings, "And buy some merchandise while I'm at it."

"Ah. Would you like to send a message to the queen regarding your presence in the kingdom?" The other guard asked.

"Uh..." I grew nervous, "No thanks. I won't have the time to visit the palace anyways."

The two looked confused, "Wait, what?"

"Dude, you haven't visited the kingdom for nearly two years!"

"I'm just here to buy stuff, really. And I'm in a bit of a hurry; so like I said, I can't come to the palace..." Even if I want to... I look away from the guards, trying to avoid eye contact.

The two conversed, confused and skeptical as to what my intentions are. Eventually, they came to an agreement and gestured the gatekeeper to open the door. I thanked the two guards and walked into the kingdom. I moseyed on to the Fire Kingdom's marketplace, heading straight for Ferrum's place.

Agh, the heat is killing me! Maybe I should've just woke Flambo up...Wait, I don't have any charcoal with me! Glob dang it, gah! Forget it, just forget it. I can take this heat no probs. I remove the bear hat and left it hanging on my neck, exposing my blonde hair in the hot air. After what seemed like hours on end, I came across his shop. A small building adorned with a bunch of weapons and armor dangling above the door; yup, definitely his shop alright. I walk towards the door and knocked. A fire elemental of similar height as mine came up to the door and slid away the sheet of solidified magma.

"Holy smokes, Finn! I haven't seen you in a while, my friend!" We shook hands, but at the touch of his flames, my hand jerked away. "Oh, my bad. Not wearing flame shield, I see?"

"Yeah, Flambo was dozing." Ferrum chuckled as I shook and rubbed my hand in pain. "It's great to see you again, Ferrum," I greeted back. My eyes wandered around his shop. It looked a lot like the last time I visited his place; raw metals, ores, and minerals littered the floor, and every armor and weapon imaginable hanging on the walls. It's like a familiar feeling. "Heh, déjà vu much?"

"Depends on how you look at it," He smirked. "So, what have you been up to for the past year or so?" He asked as we marched back to his counter.

"Well, I got to meet my dad, got my arm cut off and it grew back somehow, got a new sword, and a few uninteresting junk here and there. The bad guys aren't putting much of a fight until today, too, so there's that..."

"Ah, I see. You've been busy, heh. Say, can I check out your new sword?" I handed my Finn Sword to him, awaiting his comment. "Beautiful; it is indeed a magnificent piece of handiwork you have here."

"Sup." The sword spoke, making Ferrum jump.

"WHOA!"

"Yeah, it literally has a mind of its own," I commented. The Finn inside the blue orb was waving his hand at Ferrum. "I honestly don't know how I can explain how I got that; it was all a bunch of wibbly wobbly...Timey wimey...Stuff." Not exactly the best explanation, but whatevs.

"...Well, let's get down to business then, shall we?" As Ferrum handed me back the sword, I unstrapped the jetpack off of my shoulders and gave it to Ferrum. "Ah, I see the problem. I can take care of this in no time, Finn."

"Cool. What's it made of, anyways?"

"Hmm...It looks like a titanium alloy. Nothing complex; I can make it look like it's child's play!"

The elemental blacksmith picked it up and headed back. For a few moments, eerie silence filled the room, until his chants and sounds of crackling fire emanated from the backroom. Glowing white-hot flames would sometimes erupt out of the room. The sight of it all is rather hypnotizing. The beauty of fire...Yeah...I find myself looking towards the castle, reminded of that amorous flame I fell for. When all of the commotion in the room seized, Ferrum came back with a mended wing.

"Like I said, child's play," He said. Then he noticed me staring out the window in the general direction of the queen's castle. "Ah, I see what you're thinking."

"Huh, what?"

Ferrum grinned, "One way or another, you're going to have to release that warm feeling."

"Dude, you're getting the wrong idea."

"Admit it, Finn. You've told me the same story time and time again. Besides, honesty is the law around here."

My face is now flushed in crimson red and I turn away from the fire elemental.

"I'm sorry Finn, I didn't mean to intrude your feelings like that..."

"Nah, it's alright..." I then switched subjects to avoid any awkward silence, "Do you think she would accept a gift from me?"

"I'm sure she would."

"But...I hurt her..." I look down in disappointment.

"Finn, don't think; just do." I took some time to think...Wait didn't he say to just do?

"...Can you make a teardrop ruby with the markings of infinity and eternity?" Ferrum only nodded and set to work. In no time, he returned with the desired jewel and handed it over to me. I held up the teardrop-shaped ruby and see plasma flowing inside, forming the desired shapes. "Do you think she'll like it?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" He said and bowed down. "Your highness." Confused, I turn around and see a familiar face whose light I haven't seen in a long time.

"Finn?"

**A/N: Hoho, the references are strong with this one. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed that one! And a very special thanks to Ooobserver for letting me borrow his OC, Ferrum, for a cameo!**

**This part was actually supposed to be the final part, and I delayed it further. In fact, I made an update on my profile today regarding that particular thing. But I thought, "Eh, this seems like a good end to the chapter." And so I published it. Besides, I already broke 7k total with this. While I do like to polish my work as much as possible, I don't want to just leave you guys for months and months. Although admittedly, I have done that with my other fanfiction...SMH. Anyways, let us move on to the reviews!**

**Ooobserver – Well, Finn is experiencing a bit of depression (that is an understatement), and the Lich 'infected' him with mind-controlling magic...I'd say he has a bit of both. And once again, thank you for letting me borrow Ferrum!**

**OMAC001 – Thanks for your thoughts, OMAC. I appreciate it! :) I really do hope I find the time to complete more chapters. I feel pretty bad for taking this long to publish this one.**

**Fiery Crusader – I'm glad you managed to catch it. Then again, not much has happened anyways, heh. Thanks for your review and I hope you stick around for more! :)**


	4. Chapter 4: Knightfall, Final Part

**A/N: Phew, I finally made it. Sorry for the lack of updates. And for being late, again. And for procrastinating. And for leaving you guys with left-to-be-desired works. And for making this my equivalent of the F-35. Not to mention the fact that I had to cut this part up from the original count so that I could post this. It used to be 10k+ words, now it's just 7-8k. What amazing start to my plan. Well done, me… I could go on, but do you really want me to drown on, or do you want to read? **

**To make up for the extreme delays and overpromises, here is a very, very meaty part of the Knightfall story arc; complete with drama and foreshadowing! In that order!**

**As some of you may know by now, I've decided to make a trilogy out of this story. It underwent a few naming revisions, but this one's final. I'm looking forward to sharing more with you guys! In other news, I've started posting the chapters on my DeviantArt page. I've also changed the story picture so that it would relate more to the story. Lastly, this will be the last chapter you'll see until November, since after this, I will be working on three other projects, including a new Adventure Time fanfiction set for October. So, until then, my friends.**

**Oh and be advised: heart-crushing feels are inbound to your AO, over.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Adventure Time. Otherwise, I would be writing this for the upcoming AT Movie...**

**Chapter 4: Knightfall, Final Part – A Tragic Promise**

_The Candy Kingdom, 01:39_

_Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum's POV_

"Target is confirmed gone, your majesty. There's no sight of the Lich anymore," one of the Nighthawk pilots radioed. I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the danger is gone, for now. "The vault, however, has been destroyed in the process."

"That doesn't matter right now. Were there any casualties?" I asked out of concern.

"No civilian casualties... Wait, hold on; what's that moving over at the debris?" The second pilot said, "It looks like... A broken robot! Hey, it's waving right at us!"

The pilot's response made me worry a little. There weren't any robots placed inside the vault, much less an active one. "...Nighthawk 1, can you confirm?"

"Yes, ma'am. It looks like one of the old gumball robots we had a while back."

His response made me shudder inside. "Oh no..." There was a long pause until I was snapped out of my little trance.

"Uh...Princess? Are you there?"

"Y-yeah...Thank you. You may return back to base." I shut off the radio.

As the Nighthawks flew over castle, heading back to the desert, I exit the secluded communications room. On my way out to the throne, I was greeted by Jake, panting and somewhat out of breath.

"Oh hey PB, am I late? There were some burglars that kind of delayed me on my way to the castle." He said calmly.

"Thankfully, the Lich problem was averted before any more damage was done, but not without some casualties...Come on." I replied and gestured him to come with me.

Jake remains puzzled as to what was going on, but he manages to catch on. "Hey, wait up!" I exited the throne room out to the kingdom streets, with Jake right behind. "Care to explain what the flip is going on here?!"

I sighed. "It's what I feared the most...The Lich; he's back."

"Wait, what?!"

"It doesn't matter, now that he's gone, for now. Anyways, we're here," I said as we approached the vault ruins.

There were a few walls left standing, one or two pillars, but other than that, it's just candy rocks and steel and debris. Science experiments and materiel lay before me, crushed, buried, or destroyed. I feel a little saddened inside, but all of that disappointment was displaced by worry and compassion when I see the robotic body of my sentient creation, partially crushed under the weight of rubble. I run up to his side, hoping that I can still recover him.

"Princess..." The robot struggled to speak.

"Rattleballs, are you okay?"

"I'm running low on energy reserves. Also, I have to tell you something," He responded calmly.

"What? What is it?"

"The human...He's...Noooooooot." Rattleballs trailed off; his power reserves had ran out, rendering him offline. His last words only left more questions needed to be answered. The human is not what? Does he mean Finn?

"Jake, I need some help over here!" I commanded, and the yellow bulldog rushed over to my location. With his incredible strength and shapeshifting abilities, Jake lifts the candy boulders off of Rattleballs. By doing so, we could see the extent of the damage.

"Whoa, it seems that the Lich did a number on this guy," He stated, "What am I looking at here?"

"His name is Rattleballs. He is the last of my old elite gumball guards."

"Oh yeah, I've heard of those guys. Didn't think I'd see one for myself, though."

"Yes, Rattleballs is very unique. He 'evolved' from just being a violent mechanical guardian to a robot with free will."

"Huh, neat."

"Your highness!" A voice yelled from afar. We look towards it and see a young messenger heading our way. "We require your utmost attention!" The messenger said.

I nodded in reply, then faced Jake. "Bring Rattleballs back to the castle. Once you do so, you're free to leave. I have other businesses to attend to." The yellow bulldog nods without reply and proceeds to follow my order.

I followed the messenger back to the castle and into the security room. Only a handful of cameras were reactivated since my 'disagreement' with Phoebe, and most of them were taken out due to the attack.

"So why did you call me here?" I demanded.

"Come look at this," A banana guard explained. "We have found something very weird before and during the attack and thought you may want to see this."

He pulled out a tape from one of the drawers and inserted it into the video player. Footage outside the vault prior to the attack showed me and my escorts leaving the building. Wait, what was that? A blue and white streak dashed into the closing vault door. Then I remembered; the blue streak at the corner of my eye. I should've known something was up then, but I refused to acknowledge it.

"Switch to high-speed mode," I commanded.

The footage was replayed, this time in slow-motion. That same blue and white streak can now be seen clearly as a... Hold on, that's a white hat, a blue outfit, and a silver and blue trim sword.

_"__Was that Finn?"_ I thought. What could he possibly be doing at that time? That's when it hit me; not answering the phone, weird behavior, something's gone wrong with him. It sent shivers down my spine, thinking that an honest-to-Glob good boy like him would commit such a heinous crime. However, as he moved into the closing door, the truth dawns to me. "No..."

We switch to the cameras inside the vault. The blonde bear-capped boy's facial features were visible to us, and I can see his mischievous smile and his glaring green irises – wait, green irises? Didn't he have blue? He began to laugh as he scoured the room. Suddenly, the whole footage shook, and a piece of falling debris hit his domepiece. "Oof!" He said. After a few seconds, the feed ended.

"Is that it?" I asked.

"Yep. After that, the camera lost connection." It all makes sense now; maybe Rattleballs was trying to stop Finn – or whatever he is now. "Princess?"

_"__Something is definitely wrong with him... But what?"_ My trail of thought was broken after the banana guard repeatedly called out my name. "Investigate the vault and see if there are anything missing or stolen; have Jake help. And give me the holophone; I need to make a call."

* * *

><p><em>The Fire Kingdom<em>

_Phoebe's POV_

Rebels; they've been sprouting up everywhere, inciting lies and using other forms of propaganda to topple me from the throne. In light of this, I've set up a meeting in order to deal with this threat. Unfortunately, this meeting has dragged on too long, and it's getting worse by the minute. My cohort of advisors, military commanders, family members, and government staff argued endlessly on what action to take against a rising insurgency. And now, two of them are duking it out which action is the most reasonable.

"And what are we supposed to do, declare martial law? That is not our way of governing, not anymore," An advisor stated.

"With the rising tide of rebels, yes! Rebel cells have been growing for the past year, we cannot take any chances!" My older brother, Flint, responded aggressively.

"Stop, both of you!" I cut in, "Arguing over our actions won't lead to any conclusion of this meeting. If we won't come to an agreement, I feel that I may need to resume our meeting tomorrow. Besides, we have been going at it for more than a day now..."

"Sis, this is a matter of national security, and you want us to go to bed?!" Flint snapped back.

"Flint, we have had no rest since we started. We're going to need some if we're going to make a sound decision." Flint grunted in response while everyone conversed amongst themselves; we all knew I was right. "We'll continue this meeting later. Use the time to grab some needed rest. Dismissed." Everyone rose up from their seats and headed to the door until I was left alone in the room.

I've sat at the throne for nearly two years. All I've done is try to change my kingdom, my home, a better place for everyone, elementals and non-elementals alike. My kingdom's ruthless behavior in the past was something that needed to be worked on. Nothing could change the landscape; well, maybe except for Mother Nature. I thought if we could change our ways, we would be better received by everyone else; we wouldn't be viewed as militaristic and oppressive, but as a reformed and benevolent kingdom. Yet, I was met with heavy resistance.

I stand up from my chair and head out the room. I stroll through the crimson hallways of the castle, hiding away my distressed emotions from anyone I come across. After a few short minutes of moseying around, I make it to the balcony. Overlooking the whole kingdom from here, I let the environment sink in. It looks so quiet and peaceful; nothing like a nightly breeze. But at the back of my mind, I knew that this peace is in jeopardy, and it is in my power to stop it.

"Ugh, what have I done wrong?" I said as I put my palms on my face. It is in that moment that I hear me being called out.

"Flame King!" I took notice of it and promptly turned around. It was none other than Cinnamon Bun, who was holding a holophone. "Emergency call from the Candy Kingdom; it's the Princess!"

_"__Bubblegum? What could she want now?"_ I thought and said, "Hand the phone to me." When the holophone landed on my handed, a holographic Princess Bubblegum appeared.

"Phoebe," she greeted.

"Bonnibel," I greeted back.

"I wish we could meet in much better circumstances; but right now, we have a dire problem."

"Uh huh," I lamely responded as I crossed my arms. "Well, I'm busy dealing with my own problems."

In response, her voice shifted tone. "I'm serious, Phoebe! The whole world is at stake here!"

"How would I know you're not messing with me again? Need I remind you, the last time we tried to 'work' together, lives were lost! We were in the verge of war!"

"I know our kingdom's relationship has been very shaky, especially for the last year. I am deeply sorry for my actions," A resentful Bubblegum spoke, "But just this once, you have to believe me! I would not have come to you if the situation was so calamitous."

"She has a point, your highness..." CB said.

After giving it a bit of thought, I grunted and sighed. "Fine. What is this 'threat' we're dealing with?"

"Just a while ago, the Lich has returned, and he has ransacked quite a bit of the kingdom. He got away minutes ago, and I don't know where he's headed."

I raised an eyebrow, "Didn't you get help?"

PB's face turned solemn. "I did. But by then, he was already gone. My new warplanes didn't leave a scratch on him, and Jake came too late,"

Without thought, my lips moved about and a concerned voice escaped. "What about Finn? How was he? Is he okay?"

"...That's the thing..." She replied, her expression turning even more worrisome.

"W-what do you mean?"

"I called the treehouse, but no one answered. More worryingly..." She paused as she rummages for something. Seconds later, she returned with a video. "It's a slowed-down and enhanced video of earlier footage. It was caught right before the Lich attacked. Finn was spotted breaking into the Candy Kingdom vault, presumably to steal something."

"...And here I thought you actually needed my help. Are you seriously trying to trick me, again?!"

"I swear to Glob, I'm not tricking you! This was actual footage during the attack! Phoebe, please, you have to believe me!" She pleaded, but I shook my head in refusal. At that moment, Peppermint Butler arrived, whispered to her ear, and left soon after. "I just got word that he stole a prototype plasma blade that uses a heat-based power source... He's heading your way Phoebe." A long awkward silence followed, and neither of us tried to budge.

She remained distressed while I was still furious. After all, I have the perfect reasons to be mad at her. She caged me in a flipping lamp, she made me her lab rat, and she nearly destroyed my kingdom! For all I know, she could be framing Finn for a crime he did not commit!

"I know it's hard to believe, but the truth isn't something you can just deny, and you know that more than I do... He's changed more than we know, for better or worse," She said, "You have to keep him from leaving your kingdom. I'll be coming over to arrest him. I'll see you in a bit." Before I could respond, the hologram switches off.

I should've known she would do something like this again. Her accusations don't even make sense! Why would Finn commit a kind of crime like that, especially to someone he's loyal to? She probably even lied about the Lich returning... Gah, this is giving me a headache!

"Are you okay, m'lady?" CB spoke up.

I sighed, "I dunno, Cinnamon Bun. Today's just really tiresome..." Well, if that isn't the understatement of the year, I don't know what is. "I think I'll take a walk out the kingdom."

"Shall I escort you?"

"No thank you, CB. I can take care of myself."

I grab my charcoal black cloak from my chambers and leave the castle. Very few people remain in the streets as I mindlessly walk through the burning domain of my kingdom. At the gate, I see the guards were simply chatting amongst themselves. When I come close enough that they see me, they stood straight and halted their conversation.

"Your highness? What are you doing so late at night?" One of the guards questioned.

"Just taking a stroll, guards. Nothing to worry about. I'll be back shortly," I replied.

"...W-wait! I forgot to report to you of our recent visitor!" Curious as to what it is, I turn back to the guard. "Finn the Hero has entered the kingdom, and he has yet to leave." Every single word he said captured my attention.

"What? Why didn't you report to me about his visit?"

"He said not to, since he's here for business reasons and that he has no time to visit the castle."

"What kind of business reasons?"

"He's headed to Ferrum to repair a jetpack and buy stuff." By that point, I rush back into the kingdom. "I don't get it; the guy visits the place for the first time in more than a year, but doesn't make the palace his fir- hey! Where's the King?!" I hear them speak off in the distance.

"No time! I have to get to Ferrum's shop, ASAP!" I yelled.

I race through the nigh-empty streets of the kingdom, with nothing to stop me from my tracks. People, buildings, districts; they all blasted past my vision. To be fair, I've never gone this fast in ages! It's like something possessed me

In no time, I arrive at Ferrum's armory. I hesitate at first, but, taking a deep breath, I slowly reach for the knob and twist it. The door chimes tolled and the owner looked over his customer's shoulder. To my delight, the customer was none other than Finn, whom I haven't seen for over a year...

More than one year, huh? That's a Glob-awful lot of time... Maybe PB's right; maybe he has changed... Wait, what am I thinking?! Finn would never do something like that... Right? Just by seeing him, I stood there, paralyzed and speechless; my mind filling up with more questions. It felt like I'm chained down in a glass prison for eternity, until Ferrum's voice broke me out of it.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Ferrum said and bowed down. "Your highness."

"Finn?"

The blonde boy, whose bear hat dangles from his neck and sweat dripping down his soft skin, turns around to face me and hastily bows. "Flame Pr- err, I mean, King?" Finn nervously said as he blushed and rubbed his head, seemingly puzzled by my presence, "H-how may I be of service?"

"Stand down, you two. There's no need formality."

"I'm, uh, leave you two alone." Ferrum left, but not before giving Finn a nudge towards me.

"Oof... Hey!" Finn called Ferrum out, but quickly faced back at me. He's visibly blushing as he rubbed his right arm. "Oh... Uh, sorry for not telling you I'm coming. Now's not really a good time for me." As he spoke, our eyes slowly lose contact.

"It's okay, I know you're busy."

"So... How are things?"

"Busy."

"Okay." Well, things got awkward real fast. "I think I'm just gonna go. I've got what I needed here, after all..." His face was visibly sullen after saying it. He slung straps around his shoulder and headed towards the door. "It's nice seeing you again, Princess."

However, something just doesn't feel right. I can't help but feel suspicious of his arrival. Why would he be here at this time? It's just outright strange, and not in a good way. So before he could leave, my hand grabs hold of his arm. If anything, this is the right time to find out if Bonnie's telling the truth or not. Even if I wouldn't like the outcome.

"...Finn, you know very well we have a total honesty law here," I said, my grip on his arm growing ever tighter, "so tell me why you're _really_ here."

"What are you talking about? Let me go, FP," he said calmly. "I'm only here for business; nothing more."

"Princess Bubblegum called. A burglary took place in a high-security area in her kingdom... Something like a plasma blade that's been stolen from her property."

"...So what does that have to do with me?" A seemingly innocent voice squeaked out from him.

"Well, she did say that the suspect looked eerily similar to you," I stated, slowly removing my gaze from him. "I'm just wondering if you had something to do with it."

"...I had nothing to do with it, FP. Now can you please let me go?" He replied flatly as he started to pull his hand from me. I respond by tugging back.

"What's the rush? It's not like you have anything to hide from me... Right?"

"FP, you're acting... Weird,"

"Look who's talking!"

"What's your problem?!" He seethed with frustration and his voice grew louder.

Our little tug-o-war continued until something fell on the ground. Finn flinches a little as I look down to see what he dropped. It looks like a hilt of a sword, but without the blade. There is button on the side; I press it, and out comes a charcoal black rod, made from materials able to withstand extreme temperatures for an extended period of time. Then it clicked; as the truth dawned, we were left speechless. This is what PB must be talking about... Finn stayed put, looking down in disappointment and frustration, while I stare at the blade in dismay.

"...Why...?" I croaked.

He doesn't respond; he just looks away. I can't shake the feeling that so much of him had changed. It pains me so much just to think about it. No one budged for half a minute, letting silence take over.

"...How much have you changed?" I broke out. At this point, I was on the verge of tearing up, knowing that, of all the people in this planet, he would commit such a crime. "Why are you hiding all this from me?!"

"BECAUSE YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!" He just screamed at the top of his lungs. I was taken aback while it took a bit for him to register what he had just done. "I-I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me..."

Tears slowly slip through my eyelids. "Finn, just tell me, as a friend. What's wrong with you?" I asked sincerely.

"T-that's just it... I don't know what's wrong with me," he stuttered. "One moment, I fall asleep on grass; the next moment, I find myself stuck in a room full of many things. Sometimes, I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. I lose every ounce of control I have over myself; it's like, something or someone just grabs hold of me and makes me his/her puppet."

"...So why exactly are you here?"

He tells his story, about how he got into the Candy Kingdom vault, how he had fought the Lich, and how he was led to the Fire Kingdom. When he finished, silence came down once again as I try to let all the information sink in.

"Look, FP, if you don't believe me, I will gladly oblige to whatever punishment you bring on to me. This was a stupid plan to begin with," He surrendered.

I want to believe him, but it's hard. It's not that his story was unbelievable; in fact, it lines up with what Bubblegum had told me. I... I just can't trust him; not after he lied to me twice. I am so conflicted that I can almost feel myself breaking into half. But I have to make a choice.

"...Ferrum, I know you're listening, so please initiate Protocol 111," I requested as I gave Finn back the plasma blade.

I see his shadow walking around his backroom. A few seconds later, the elemental pokes his head out of the room.

"We're ready," Ferrum said.

I motion Finn towards the back. "Follow me, Finn. And, uh, lock the door. What you're about to see is extremely confidential."

"Wait, why?"

"Just do it before I change my mind," I said coldly while crossing my arms.

I hear Finn sigh in reluctance. At the backroom, the basalt floor had collapsed to form spiral stairs, leading deep into the ground. We walk down the stairs, with Ferrum leading us into the depths. As we stroll further, I notice that Finn began to sweat. Gah! He doesn't have flame shield! How could I've not notice something so obvious?!

"Oh Glob, you don't have flame shield!" I reacted.

"Hehe, well," Finn began, rubbing the back of his head, "Flambo was asleep when I got to the gate, and I didn't want to wake him up, so here I am, no flame shield. It's okay, though, I can take it."

"Well I'm not letting you burn to crisp right here, so..." I start chanting the spell and cast it onto Finn, who turned blue the moment I did so. "There." He stood there, straight-faced and stunned for some unknown reason. "Well?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry," He sheepishly apologized. I shrug it off and continue to follow Ferrum. "Wait, so why are there stairs like this in Ferrum's work room? Last time I came in, there weren't any," Finn queried, and then muttered something I couldn't hear.

"Ferrum, as you know, is a retired military officer." Finn nodded to that in confirmation. "But he's also a family friend. His and my family has protected something of great importance to the kingdom. And as far as I know, you'll be the first outsider to see it."

I have his curiosity peaked. "Whoa, really? I'm honored."

We reach the basaltic hallway at the bottom with two large scarlet doors at the end. Ferrum enters the code to unlock the doors, and once he's done, they creak open, revealing what seemed like sunlight at first. Once our eyes adjust to the shining brightness, we saw clearly a dense ball of fire. I order Ferrum to stay back and guard

"This is the Aeterna Flame," I began, gesturing towards the fireball. "Not much is known about it other than myths. Legend has it that it was created from the core of the sun in its conception. It is also said that it bonds and responds to its wielder, but I've yet to find out if that's true. The plasma blade, please," I requested, to which he complied. "Anyhow, your blade will not be satisfied with just ordinary fire. It would extinguish it in seconds. However, even a small piece of the Flame will keep the fire alive indefinitely."

Once I open up the power core, I start manipulating the Flame. It's fairly difficult to manipulate such an ancient artifact, but I only need a little to power this thing. I slowly extract a small sample of the Flame, carefully place it in the weapon's power core, and seal it. Finn presses the button, and the telescopic rod extends out. Scarlet flames burst out of the rod's pores and the blade hums. We were both struck in awe, but I want to see if it really works. While he playfully waves around his new sword, I pick up a stray rock and throw it at Finn. His reflexes are as quick as ever, slicing the rock clean in half. His face is filled with glee at first, but it quickly turned to worry.

"...Flame Princess, why are you giving me this?"

"It's because I have faith in you," I started. "Finn, I know you. Whatever you're going through, I know you'll be able to get through it."

"You really shouldn't be giving me this... I-I don't know what would happen if I lose control again."

"If you do ever end up on the wrong side, I'll hunt you down myself." Finn chuckled at my bold statement, but I was serious. I shot a glare at him, just to make sure it sank in. "Just promise me you'll return Finn..." Then I saw his face turn gloom.

"...You know I can't promise you that," he said, looking away.

"...Just do it for me. Please." I pleaded, looking down and closing my eyes.

I feel a peck on my forehead, and then a burning sensation, but that didn't last long. I open my eyes, and he stood in front of me awkwardly, rubbing his right arm. With a blink of an eye, he had turned his back and headed for the stairs. A rush of weariness came over me like a lava wave. I lean back on the wall when I hear Ferrum coming into the room.

"Princess, are you sure it was the right thing to do?" He asked.

I took a deep breath before responding. "...I don't know Ferrum. I just want to know who he really is. Only time will tell at this point."

I get off the wall and we head back to the surface. When we arrive back at Ferrum's workshop, Ferrum shut the secret stairs off from the world. I mindlessly wander around; Finn had already taken his stuff. I sigh; I wish I could talk to him more, but in less dire circumstances. Before I step out of the armory, Ferrum called me out.

"Your highness, if I may," he started, "he meant to give you something. I guess he couldn't bring himself to do it." He hands me a ruby with glowing markings engraved onto it.

"Hm? What's this?"

"It's a special ruby with a bit of Aeterna plasma injected into it. Infinity and Eternity, as one."

"So what do they mean?"

"Well, he never told me. But, based on my knowledge of human meanings, I would say they mean that his love for you is infinite, and hope springs eternal."

I-I don't know what to say. I'm left speechless. I...

"I... I have to go."

"W-wait! You forgot th-" The door slammed behind me, cutting him off.

I can't take much more of this. I just want this night to end. I just want to go back to sleep and pretend this night never happened. But it wasn't going to be. Bonnie is probably still waiting for me to capture Finn. But, I let him go... I rush back to the gates, and on my way, I hear thundering claps in rapid succession in the distance. When I arrive, so did PB in... Whatever the heck that is. The sounds came from the rotating rotor blades on top of her machine. But I digress.

"How in the world do you have this lying around?"

"Mushroom War tech is easy to replicate with what we have now. Well, except stealth technology applied to aircraft. I'm still learning the ropes." We didn't speak for a bit. The rotors drowned out all the silence, so I couldn't focus my thoughts well. "So, where is he?" She questioned. I was afraid she would ask that.

"I let him go," I answered quietly.

Bonnie was definitely surprised. "...You what?!"

"You heard me."

"Are you insane?! For all we know, something terrible has worked into that kid's brain! And you just let him go?!" She burst furiously, "He's become a danger to not only everything around him, but himself too! Can't you understand the situation?!"

I winced. "Oh, I understand it completely. But unlike you, I have faith in him; and maybe you should too, Bubblegum!" I retorted with my own anger.

She remained quiet for a short moment, but returned with her response. "Is it faith, or emotions that drove your judgment?!"

"What does that have to do with anything, Bonnie?! It's none of your darn business!" I retorted. "Why is that thing so important to you anyways?"

She was once again quiet at first, and then sighed. "...Did you give him the Aeterna Flame?"

I'm caught by surprise. How…? How does she know of its existence?! How long had she known?! I was about to unleash my rage onto her, but I calmed myself, knowing it was unprofessional to do so. I am a leader of a kingdom, after all. Not to mention the hell I would bring upon the land by taking out one of the most powerful leaders of Ooo.

"Phoebe, please let me explain," she pleaded with a voice of assurance, one that I refuse to believe.

"Just... No. Get out."

I turn my back and walk away, ignoring anything else from the candy ruler. I just keep walking and walking until I reach the castle. At the throne room, my father is still awake. He was going to say something, but I stomped my way out of the room before he could. Knowing him, he probably was going to crudely joke and taunt me about my night.

"Yeesh, tough crowd," I hear him say.

So much had happened in just an hour, and as selfish as it sounds, I need time for myself, time to think, time to let it all sink in. I lie face down on my bed, trying to find a comfortable position. I let my mind drift freely in an attempt to fall asleep.

_"__Was I right to let him go?"_

* * *

><p><em>The Ice Kingdom, the next day, 17:00<em>

_Finn's POV_

I've been hiking through the Ice Mountains for hours now. It's getting really dark, and I need a place to stay. And I know exactly where I can. Slowly, I climb higher and higher, until I reach my desired destination. Although, he seems to be expecting me.

"Alright, who dares enter my domain?!" Simon yelled out of the blue.

"Whoa, hey there, Ice King!"

"...Oh, Finn! Come in, come in! What brings you here?"

"Oh, you know, just adventuring and whatnot, and I need a place to stay. Is it okay if I ha-" I was cut off by Simon's enthusiastic cries.

"Oh sure, sure! Hold on, I'll prep things up!" He said, then turned his head back to his castle, "Gunter! We have a guest!"

"Uh, okay," I responded with a face as straight as it can be. _"Still as overzealous as usual."_

Simon leads me into his home, where his penguins are waddling around, struggling to follow his orders.

"So what shall we do first, games? Interweb videos?" He suggested. Then my stomach began rumbling loud enough for Simon to hear. "Oh, you must be hungry. Let's get you some dinner first."

"N-no thanks. I'm fi-" It rumbled again; this time, a little louder. "Maybe I could go for a few rounds."

**(A/N: Soundtrack Time! This is my Mexico – Brian Tyler)**

Dinner isn't all too bad. The food is cold, but since I'm in the Ice Kingdom, I let it slide. For cold food, it isn't too shabby either. I mean, it's not amazing by any means, but it is enough to satisfy me. With my stomach filled, my mind begins to wander everywhere, ignoring whatever Simon's talking about. Then, my eyes wander to the crown, and it gave me a bit of a thought.

"Finn, you awake?" He snapped me out.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I was just thinking about something," I said and transitioned, "Hey, Ice King? Can I ask you something?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"How do you live with it? Without control or... Whatevs."

"Huh? What are you talking about? I have full control of myself, thank you very much."

"Sorry, that came out wrong. I don't really know how to put it into words." I paused soon after, trying to think of better wording. Man, this is hard. "I guess, what I'm trying to ask is, how does life feel having someone or something over your head? Metaphorically speaking."

He thought long and hard, until something broke out of his imprisoned mind. "I don't know. I never really thought about it that much..." He said as he took the crown off his head and examined it. "My life's been simple; I never stay in the past nor do I let them mold who I am. I make my choices and I don't look back..." He stopped and looked back at me. I was astounded at the amount of wisdom his words carried, and he saw it. "Hehe, don't mind me. I'm just wizard talking!"

As far as I know, it's rare for him to spit out trivial or wise speeches. The last time I remember he did that was when we were trapped in the Spirit World.

"Now come on; enough of that spiritual talk and all that. Let's have some fun! Whaddaya wanna do?" Simon said, suddenly standing up in joy. His voice is filled with raw energy, in contrast to the solemn notes from a few seconds ago. He dashes towards the ice fridge, grabbing two cans of soda. He smiles as a hand of his reaches out to me, a soda on hold. "It's your call."

Naturally, I accepted the gift. It's rude not to. "Thanks, Simon."

"Hey, no prob, bub. That's what friends are for, am I right?" "So why are you out here anyways?"

"It's a long story."

What a beautiful day to kick back, relax, and put my feet up. The sun is setting, I'm lying on the grass, arms spread out, soft soothing breeze whipping my face, nature's chirping; everything's chill. Then I hear giggling nearby. It sounds familiar, but I can't put my finger on it just yet. I stand up and follow the sounds deep into the forests behind me. As I go further, I can hear another familiar voice speaking poetry. It didn't take long for me to find my destination.

"I remember this," I whispered in the bushes.

It was from three years ago, my first kiss with Flame Princess. I watch myself reading the admittedly sappy poem to her. Princess Bubblegum and Jake arrive, and right then and there, we kiss and an explosion erupts. She burns through the ground, drilling further and further into the planet's crust. Of course, being the hero I am, or was, the younger Finn dives into the charred hole with Jake's arm tied around him. I smile as I slowly leave the area.

_"__How sweet…"_

The further I move away, the more I smell what seems like ash. Strange, I'm already far from her old home, yet I still smell something burning. My answer lied just on the other side of the forests. An all too familiar battle raged in the Ice Kingdom. All but water remains of the ice caps of the mountains. From afar, another Finn lie beaten and burnt on the edge of water, collateral damage from the earlier skirmish.

_"__I need some time alone…"_ Her voice rang through my head.

_"__How… How did it get to this?"_

The thought saddened me to the verge that tears form. Instinctively, I wipe them away. I hadn't notice that the other me starts slipping into the water. When I did, his head is already halfway gone.

"Oh no!" I cried.

I dive right into the murky waters, where I find myself in yet another familiar predicament. The other Finn slowly drowns; his clothes are ripped apart, gashes covered his body, and all that's left of his right arm was a flower on a stub. That greedy, lying scoundrel of a father! Does he even care for his own son?! As two yellow elastic arms tie around the younger me, I swim up and… Wait, where am I? This isn't the Citadel! I am surrounded by rubble and decaying buildings and structures. Nature had retaken most, if not all, the land. Nearby is a partially submerged bridge – a very, very large one at that. It had to be nearly two miles long when it was still standing. All sorts of things littered the destroyed bridge – rust, cars, metal beams and struts, debris, bones; I could go on forever. This must be a structure from pre-Mushroom War. I climb to an area in which I can barely walk on the crusty surface of the bridge's roads without my head down under.

"Hoot, hoot."

That unmistakable sound… The Cosmic Owl, he's here. I know it. But where? I look around for a moment, until I spot him perched on one steel beam.

_"__Alright, what is it this time?"_ I thought sourly.

"I can listen to your thoughts, you know," he called me out, and then muttered something under his breath. His expression is drowning anxiety and solemnity. "Deities across dimensions have been going into hiding. There's something big coming, I can almost taste it. I fear that it's only just begun, a crisis is about to transpire."

"I don't understand… Why are you telling me this?"

"Finn, you have to be prepared. Whatever is coming…" He paused, but immediately rebounded. "This dream is all I can show you. It's what I saw in my own dreams… This will be the last time you'll see me in a VERY long while."

"W-wait! How will I know who's…" Before I could continue, he flies away into a portal. "Dang. Guess I'm all alone here."

I wade onto a shallower area of the sunken bridge, and then I sense something evil lurking nearby. He's behind me, I can feel it. Indeed, I am right; when I do look over my shoulder, someone is looking right at me. He was never there before, but I didn't question it. It is a dream – a prophetic one at that. This guy seems eerily familiar. His skin is pale blue, his hair flowing from head to toe, and his pale eyes will strike fear into the bravest of hearts. He's sporting a blue cape, jeans, and red with gold trim shoulder pads. In addition to his mostly blue outfit, Simon's crown is sitting on his head, and a mechanical right arm with an icy armor. There is something about him that I can't put my finger on… Have I seen this guy before?

"Who are you…?"

"You."

His steel hand opens up, and while it doesn't transform, the ice surrounding the arm does. As it is morphing smoothly from a claw to a cluster of shards, his arm takes aim at me. All while this is happening, I hear a distant whir south of me. Then bursts of cannon fire. Rounds smack into the murky waters within our vicinity. I look towards the origin of the cannon sounds and see a charcoal gray aircraft speeding towards us. The closer he gets, the longer the bursts. I strafe left and land on my belly, dodging the incoming fire, whereas the other person stood still, switching his aim towards the aircraft. Shards of ice launch from the guy's ice-covered arm, impaling the right engine and ripping off the starboard wing. The broken diamond wing lands right beside me, almost cutting me in half. Didn't even flippin' flinch. The aircraft barely stays aloft as flames eject from the exhausts, but not for long. As it flies away from visual range, a small explosion is heard. Static went off on my left ear. Apparently, I have a little earpiece the whole time.

"Dad?! DAD!" A familiar female voice blared through the earpiece.

_"__Junior?"_

Before I could respond, I remember my own predicament. My focus shifts towards my opponent, but he has already begun his charge against me. I'm too sluggish, distracted by the events that have transpired. The only thing my mind and body is able to successfully execute is guard, close my eyes, and hope for the best. Nothing. Nothing happens; instead, when my open my eyes, all I see is darkness surrounding me. Well, not complete darkness. Somehow, I am able to see my whole body. I tap my foot, analyzing the surface. Whatever I'm standing on, it feels like solid ground. Looking back over whatever horizon this place has, I notice two sources of lights in the distance – one comes from what seems like a fire, the other from what seems like standing lightning. Curious, I walk nearer to the two lights. The closer I get, the clearer the light becomes. They're actually two people, a boy and a girl probably about 12 years of age, in a standoff. The girl is a redhead with a fiery aura surrounding her. The boy is a blonde who… Well, he looks a lot like me when I was 12, but I shrug it off as something my mind would forge. Sparks of lightning wrap around the boy, growing more intense with time. Then, the girl is completely consumed in flames and the boy enveloped in lightning. The two elements dash head on towards each other and clash.

The next thing I know, dark green flames light up and covered everything in my vision except me. In fact, I am standing on the flames themselves. Out of the green flames, an evil aura emanates. Immediately, I realize who it was and ready whatever weapon I have in this totally out of whack dream. His black and green eyes appear out of nowhere, glaring at me. The blackness that surrounds his eyes eats up the pupils and merges into a singular black hole. It grows larger and larger, and I begin to feel its gravity. Eventually, I lose my footing and dive feet first into the black hole. As I am sucked into it, I hear the Lich's all too familiar voice.

_"__There is no escape from fate."_

I shot up awake. Only now I realize that I was panting and sweating, even under the cold caves of the Ice Kingdom. My predicament springs to mind. I have to get out of here, as far as possible. I'm a living walking human time-bomb, a peril to everyone around me. I can't stay here, not anymore. I get off of my sleeping bag and pack up my things. Hastily, I grab a notepad and pencil lying around, which were probably used to jot down ideas for his Fionna and Cake fiction works, and left a note on his ice fridge.

"Thank you. -F"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I... I just do not know how I feel about this chapter... I think I broke my feels. Let's just move on.**

**Ooobserver – Wait, it throws Fanfiction mail into spam? I don't even... Anyways, thanks for your feedback! I've already got a general plan for the story. My only obstacle now is writing (or in this case, typing) them down effectively with polished quality. And cliffhangers ****_are_**** cool. ;) Also, how did I handle Ferrum?**

**Guest who read Ch. 3 and reviewed in March 12****th**** – Don't worry. I'm sure as heck I'll be updating this story as much as I can. I write my fanfics in my free time, so I don't really have much time to work with... No matter! I WILL PREVAIL!**

**Sleepy BrownBear – Thanks!**

**Fiery Crusader – Did this answer your question?**

**Bio team 2 – Let's just say... Shit hits the fan, and it will continue do so multiple times until the end of the trilogy. I'll give you that much. Besides, I've already foreshadowed the plot of the whole story here and in my little poem.**

**As usual, please criticize my writing, especially this one. When it comes to error detection, it's pretty difficult for me, especially when you have around 10,000 words to check. Whether it is due to grammar mistakes, the characters, or whatever else, it helps me grow to become a better writer. **

**Since I'll be putting this on hiatus until November, I'll be responding to reviews next month to keep you updated. My Adventure Time fanfics will return, beginning with **_**Frostburn**_** in October, and the continuation of the Crisis in November. Thank you all very much for your support! I'll see you guys soon!**


	5. Chapter 5: Not What He Seems, Part 1

**A/N: Forget what I said about the previous chapter not being the last part of the arc, because it just became the last part of the Knightfall arc. Here, we shall begin a new arc!**

**I had to postpone the development for the other fanfictions I had working on so I can satisfy my want to finish this story as much as I can. However, the primary reason is that the ideas I had kept going back to the drawing board. So some of them might not even come to fruition, sadly.**

**On another note, starting now, I'll be writing shorter chapters so I can deliver them much quicker than previously. That way, not only will it be less pressure on me, but you get to enjoy more content.**

**As always, enjoy, and have a Happy New Year!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Adventure Time. Otherwise, I wouldn't be writing this disclaimer at all.**

**Chapter 5: Not What He Seems, Part 1 - Briefing**

**(A/N: Soundtrack Time! Briefing IV – Tetsukazu Nakanishi)**

_The following night, 21:42_

_Abandoned Warehouse, Candy Kingdom Outskirts_

_3__rd__ Person POV_

After receiving an anonymous mail from an anonymous source, Jake sought out his old crew once again. They had parted ways after the Baker's Shard heist. Gareth, a.k.a. the Lady Master, is a master of manipulation and hypnosis, and has yet to be caught. The notorious conmen impressionists only known to the world as the Flying Lettuce Brothers also went under the radar. Only Tiffany, the brawns of the heist, had been caught, who had prematurely eaten the Baker's Shard and broke his teeth. He was sent to the Ant Nation to serve time for his actions, along with the intention to replace his fallen teeth. He was deemed M.I.A. during an operation gone wrong when he was teamed alongside Finn. Jake and his daughter, Jake Jr., on the other hand, were paroled by Princess Bubblegum. Now, here he is, at the same old warehouse where they planned heists together, with the same people inside.

"Hey guys," Jake said as he closed the door behind him. "…Why are you guys waiting for me in the dark, again?"

"Apparently, Tiffany has some fetish for that sort of thing," Gareth commented.

"Whatever, Gareth," Tiffany retorted. "So, Jake. I thought the Baker's Shard was our last job. Why'd you bring us back for the second time?"

Jake sighed, "Your job, not ours. May I remind you that you guys duped me!"

"Then why did you bring us back, Jake?" The Flying Lettuce Brothers asked.

"Because," As he spoke, Jake throws down files that were sent to him and some sort of holographic projector, "we've been hired."

The machine beeps and fires a beam that scans the entire room and its inhabitants. Once it finishes, holographic static pops out of the machine.

"…This is it?" Tiffany criticized.

"Nope, not at all," a voice spoke out from the machine. It was obvious that the voice was altered to hide the employer's identity. "I see all of you have made it. Now for the task at hand. I need you to take back a top secret Candy Kingdom weapon from a thief."

Jake is scrolling through the documents sent to him while he is listening to the hologram. He notices something familiar with the writing; that, and coupled with the gadgetry and the new information he was given by the holographic video, he came to a conclusion. "…Princess Bubblegum, is that you?"

"I, er…" The employer stuttered. Then the static clears up, revealing the candy monarch behind the static curtains. "Yes, Jake it is me. How did you-"

"The handwriting in these documents you sent is definitely yours, Princess. Not to mention the scent of bubblegum and the high-tech gadgetry you sent alongside them," Jake stated, "I'm not even going to question why you are giving us a job, especially after that stunt we pulled."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." She clears her throat before continuing. "You and your crew have the skills I need for this job. The Flying Lettuce Brothers and their coordination, Gareth and his hypnotic abilities, Tiffany with his brawns, and your leadership, Jake. Besides, I know you guys wouldn't pass up an opportunity for a clean slate."

"Wait, wait, wait. There has to be a catch," Gareth spoke out with concern.

"Yes, there is. Your target is a traitor to the Candy Kingdom, a dangerous one at that. The hard part is bringing him breathing, not dead. If you make it out alive, I guarantee all of you that your criminal records will be cleared from the system."

It goes quiet. Tension is building up. Everyone in the room, excluding PB, looks at each other eye-to-eye.

"So what's it going to be?"

"We know the reward is very alluring, but remember, we have to play it safe," the Flying Lettuce Brothers stated.

"It's a double-edged sword, Jake. Think about what we're doing here. If he is as deadly as she says he is, then I don't think we should be doing this job," Gareth added.

"Gareth, I think it's worth the risk. Second chances don't come around often," Jake replied.

"Why do you care?! You'd just ditch one of us when the situation gets out of hand!"

"You know that's not true, Tiffany!" Jake retorted rather furiously, even slamming his hand on the table. The boy with a thin mustache and the yellow dog with a lumped head glared. Jake regains his composure and continues.

"Guys, this is the one chance we can set you free. I may be pardoned for my crimes, but you might not be so lucky. With the clean slate, you can start a new life. No more looking over your shoulders, no more worrying, none of that. Believe it or not, I care for you guys. You're a part of my family. It pains me to see you guys stuck like this." Jake paused for a moment, letting his words sink in to his mates. "So what do you say? One more job?"

The Flying Lettuce Brothers glance at each other and then to Jake. "We're in."

"You're going to kill us some day, dude," Gareth smirked.

Tiffany, on the other hand, is crossing his arms and pouting in resistance. The yellow bulldog, in attempt to persuade his former best friend from his stubborn attitude, wiggles his eyebrows. "Grr, fine!"

"I assume you have made your decision?" The Princess called.

"We accept your job, Princess," Jake answered.

"Alright," As she spoke, the holographic projector opened up, revealing five earpieces. "These are your communicatory devices. We'll communicate through these; make sure you keep me updated. As for your target, there have been reports of disturbance in a nearby town just today. Gather information from the town and locate him. He couldn't have gone far. I will send a reconnaissance drone over to support your search. Questions?"

"What about backup in case of something going wrong?" Jake asked.

"I'm working on it. I'm not sure if she will agree, but I'll keep you updated. Anymore questions?" No one spoke up. "Good. Now ready up. I'll check back shortly."

Bonnibel sighs and leans back on her leather swivel chair, turning off her holographic projector. On the side was a bottle of Scotch Whiskey and a shot glass. Leaving out the worst of the details, especially from Jake burdened her soul heavily, and to send them after him? That just made her even more depressed.

It's only a matter of time until they find out the truth about the traitor, and Jake will be devastated – if he makes it out alive. She doesn't know what has gotten into his mind, but she knows what he is capable of. She recalls some of his feats; his first encounter with the Lich, surviving the loss of his right arm, and using psychokinesis to create a rather rickety tower, which she painfully admitted was the most interesting out of all. Flukes or not, lucky or otherwise, they were still very much impressive, especially for such a young boy.

A set of knocks slammed on the door behind her. "It's open!" She yelled from her seat.

The door of candy steel opens, revealing Peppermint Butler standing outside the room with an armor-cladded Phoebe in tow.

"Princess, the leader of the Fire Kingdom has arrived and, as requested, escorted to your special operations room."

"Ah, glad to see you've made it," Bonnibel greeted her fiery guest as she put away the alcohol beverage. "Thanks, Peps. I'll take it from here." The candy butler bowed and left for other errands.

"Bonnie, I…" She opened up, "I want to apologize for my actions two nights ago. It was immature, and unprofessional of me to do so, an-"

"It's alright, Phoebe. I understand your predicament. You were in a tough spot to make a choice, and you only chose what you think is right. People make assumptions, which leads to mistakes and regrets; you're no different, he's no different, I'm no different..." PB sighed.

Short silence falls between them before Phoebe spoke again, "I thought about your offer. And I accept."

"I'm happy to hear that, but are you sure you can handle it?"

"Well, only way to find out…"

Another quiet moment passes. The two monarchs are definitely stressed by the last few days. Who wouldn't be? The most trusted person they've known has presumably turned against them, rebellion is brewing in the Fire Kingdom, and don't forget the resurrected Lich.

"Once this is over, I will explain everything how I knew of the Flame's existence. Right now, we have other important matters to attend to," She gestures to the fire monarch, "Come on in."

Phoebe enters Bonnibel's domain, which has definitely seen better days. Still, that did not stop her from looking in awe at the gadgetry; computers, monitors, a projector, all sorts of things that one would find in a science-fiction from the age of humanity is in that room. However, a step into the black world reveals its cold secrecy to the fire lady. An atmosphere with the This room was not something to be shown to outsiders like herself, and she knew.

"What the heck…?" She can feel the chilling atmosphere somewhat stifle her very essence. "Where are we?"

"The old war room. I made it neat and tidy just for this occasion, although I feel that there will be more to come," She muttered the last part of the sentence, then shook her head to refocus. "It was built during the… Tenser times between our kingdoms, before your father came into power, before your uncle..."

"Even Uncle's reign?"

"Yes, even before the Fire Count was in power."

"… How old exactly are you?"

"Pretty old." PB sighed. From the corner of her eye, she can see Phoebe's disappointed expression, but all that was interrupted by a ring. As if she expected it, she didn't hesitate to answer the phone. "Talk to me."

"Your highness, the black jets are ready," An officer from the other side of the line responded.

"Good, let them take off as soon as possible." With that, she dropped the call.

"Who was that?" Said Flame King.

"An asset. They will provide our mercenaries on the ground aerial reconnaissance and support from the sky."

However, as Bonnibel said this, a look of uncertainty masked her whole face. She doubts the success of this black operation, and for good reason. Judging by his previous accolades, they are facing with far more destructive potential, one that rivals the Lich. Her look did not escape Phoebe's attention, and it only made the fire monarch worry more, though.

_"__Knowing full well of his capabilities… Oh who am I kidding, I don't even know what his full capabilities are. I'll leave the missiles as a last resort… But even then, I doubt I'd even lay a scratch on him…"_

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><p><em>The same time<em>

_Undisclosed Location, Western Dunes_

About two hours away from the Candy Kingdom, far from the island of Ooo, Colonel Candy Corn closes the encrypted line. He peers through the windows of the control tower of the base. The landscaping project was far from finished; sand dunes still towered around the air base, but it was enough to open up the runway preserved by the sands of time.

The Hopeless Diamond as it was once called was one of humanity's greatest and deadliest weapons. It rained death and destruction upon its foes under the cloak of darkness. That was about a thousand years ago. For those years, they lay dormant in the steel cage, until it was found and restored to their former glory. Now, two line up on the runway, ready to take flight once more.

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><p><strong>AN: Yes, I have a thing for the Nighthawk. Deal with it.**

**I don't really have much to say at the moment, so I'll keep this brief. After this chapter, I'll be responding reviews through the Private Messaging system. That is all. Moving on.**

**From the "Responding to Reviews" section:**

**MCFanfics – I shall instill great hype within you.**

**Akiyama7Koharu – Aw, shucks. You're making me blush.**

**Ooobserver – Once again, thanks Ooobserver!**

**From Ch. 4:**

**Ooobserver – Thanks so much, Ooobserver! May I ask, though, is it alright for you if I have Ferrum, not just for cameo, but as a minor character here?**

**Fiery Crusader – Hm… Nah, I think I'll continue throwing shit at him. Just kidding, we all know it has to end sometime, right? He'll live to tell the tales of epic heroism… Or will he? Dun dun duuuuuuun. Ice Prince and the Lich are definitely correct. But Orgalorg? He'll appear, yes, but that's all I can say right now. Any further or I will be shot for treason.**

**Sleepy BrownBear – Thank you!**

**Escapism-my-refuge – Haha, yeah. I really have to watch on my word choice there. Now that I look back, though, it's not exactly the most scientifically accurate description of a star, is it? Oh well; just something to watch for next time. I very much appreciate your feedback!**


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